KING’S RANSOM

Government to spend £8MILLION on portraits of new monarch

TORY ministers are set to splash out £8million on pictures of King Charles to be hung on walls in public buildings across the land.

From today, council officials will be able to apply for a free, framed portrait of the King as part of a scheme to “celebrate his new reign”.

The offer will also be open to courts, schools, police forces and fire and rescue services following the Coronation on May 6.

One critic branded the scheme a “shameful waste of money” as millions of Charles’ subjects struggle amid the cost-of-living crisis.

But Secretary of State Oliver Dowden said: “We have entered a new reign in our history. Now as we unite in preparing for the splendour of the King’s Coronation, these portraits will serve as a visible

reminder in buildings of the nation’s ultimate public servant.”

The first official oil painting of Charles, by artist Alastair Barford,

was released this week but it is understood the pictures sent out nationwide will be official photos. The Cabinet Office said the move continues a tradition in which many institutions displayed official portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen said: “This will let public institutions mark this defining moment in our history with pride.

“The Coronation is a chance for the country to unite and these portraits continue a very British tradition.”

But Graham Smith, of anti-monarchist group Republic, said: “When councils are raising taxes and cutting services, when schools and hospitals are struggling, to spend even £1 on this nonsense would be £1 too much.

“The Government has lost the plot if they think people want their money spent on pictures of Charles.”