His Majesty King Charles III waited until age 73 to become king, and whilst he was heir to the throne, the royal picked up a passion for many personal hobbies, including gardening and painting. When it comes to the latter, he admits he was "appalling" during the early years.
The Garrison Chapel at Chelsea Barracks in London ran a full King Charles art exhibition entitled King Charles III’s Watercolour Exhibition in 2022 and on one of the display boards, an honest comment from the monarch was used. It read: “Looking back now at those first sketches I did, I am appalled by how bad they are. But, nevertheless, the great thing about painting is that you are making your own individual interpretation of whatever view you have chosen.”
© Tim GrahamIn the foreword for the book titled HRH The Prince of Wales Watercolours, which was published in 1991, Charles reflected on his love for the medium of paint. "I took up painting entirely because I found photography less than satisfying... I find it transports me into another dimension which, quite literally, refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can't reach."
© Tim GrahamIn June 2026, Charles' wife Queen Camilla admitted that she picks up a paintbrush too, but she was dismissive of her own skills. “I do try to paint, very badly. But sadly, I don’t have much time. But there’s nothing I enjoy more than looking around other people’s work," she said at an event in Scotland in June.
Prince George's budding art skills
Charles' father, Prince Philip, was also a keen painter and it looks as though the passion could have skipped a generation with Prince William, but we've already seen artworks from Prince George. On Christmas Day in 2022, Prince William and Princess Kate released a painting by the then-nine-year-old Prince George, and fans were in awe of his talents. The Waleses shared George's striking watercolour painting of a reindeer, with the caption: "Happy Christmas! [paint emoji] by George."
"Wow. He has a great artistic talent! (an artist's eye and hand) Beautiful artwork!" commented one fan, and another agreed, adding: ""George has the artistic talent of his Grandpa, it's a beautiful painting Merry Christmas to you all."
Whilst George's mother is well known for her photography skills, often sharing her own works, she also has artistic flair on paper that's lesser known. The royal created a beautiful pen-and-ink drawing of St Mark’s Church in Englefield for her sister Pippa Middleton’s wedding program back in 2017.
