King Charles Just Unveiled His Extremely Red Portrait—And His Reaction Is All Of Us

King Charles III recently appeared at the big reveal for his first royal portrait since ascending the throne, and boy does it have everyone seeing red, the King included.

Literally, that is. The portrait has gone viral for artist Jonathan Yeo's surprising (or downright shocking, depending on your interpretation) choice to bathe the King in red, as if he is staring out at us through a waterfall of blood or something.

It's a startling image—and the King himself seemed fittingly startled as well, as seen below.

The King visibly jumped as he pulled the curtain off the painting for its big reveal, and naturally the internet went wild.

Any way you slice it, Yeo's painting is fascinating. It depicts the King in the red uniform of the Welsh Guards, the color of which fills the entire background of of the painting and even tints his face a bit.

Of course, one way to interpret that is as a simple reference to the King's military service leveraged for an off-the-beaten path, even avant garde tribute.

But... well, given a rather infamous incident between he and Queen Consort Camilla dubbed "Tampongate," the red color felt to many like a pointed choice.

Others also interpreted it as a reference to the bloody violence of British colonialism around the world.

Taken altogether, the King's very red portrait really has the internet talking... and laughing.

Whatever his intent, Yeo created a painting that has people talking and will never be forgotten.