A special one-off portrait of King Charles III taken during his visit to the island in May has been unveiled at a celebratory reception at Government House.

The official posed photograph was taken by police officer turned portrait photographer Philip Bermingham, who attended the event this evening with about 500 invited guests.

The King’s Celebration Garden Party was hosted by Andrew Murdoch, the Governor, to acknowledge the portrait as a “legacy piece” following the King’s visit.

It will serve as recognition of his first trip to the island as sovereign and his first visit as monarch to a British Overseas Territory.

The 30-inch by 40-inch portrait, which will be hung in the main dining hall in a wooden, gold-lacquered frame, also aims to celebrate the special links between Britain and Bermuda.

Mr Murdoch said: “Normally in Government House you have an official photograph that can be ordered and printed off but this is a one-off — there is only one of these.

“This portrait is only for Government House and will be hung in the dining room where the official portrait of the King, taken after his Coronation, used to hang.

“Having an official posed portrait has to be agreed to by the King personally and he also must approve the image personally, which he did.

“Royal portraits are not very common. Part of the background of agreeing to this is that it is a permanent reminder of His Majesty’s visit to Bermuda.”

Mr Bermingham is a former officer of the Bermuda Police Service. His duties included service at Government House before he became a police photographer and later a portrait photographer.

His book, Portraiture: On the Job — a “curated collection of notable photography” spanning 40 years, has a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Prince Philip on the cover, and also includes a photograph of King Charles III in his younger years as a prince.

Mr Bermingham photographed Prince Charles on six previous occasions through his association with the British Embassy in Washington DC and The Royal Shakespeare Company.

The photographer said: “When I learnt that the now King Charles was visiting Bermuda, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to create a portrait of the King and give it to the people of Bermuda in thanks for the incredible start to my photography career.

“I proposed this idea to Governor Murdoch who contacted Buckingham Palace.

“We were both delighted to hear back that the King had consented to the session.”

During the royal visit this year, Mr Bermingham was introduced to the King on the terrace of Government House after the monarch had planted a ceremonial tree.

The terrace, on the western side of the property on Langton Hill, Pembroke, was the location of the photograph, which shows in the background a royal poinciana tree that the King planted when visiting Bermuda as a prince in 1970.

Mr Bermingham said: “The King’s first comment was how he loved the portrait of the late Queen and Prince Philip that I had taken. That portrait is on the cover of a book of portraits I had taken, which the King had seen.

“I told him that the Queen had declined to put down her handbag for the session. I found out later that when Paddington Bear visited her for tea at Buckingham Palace, she produced a marmalade sandwich from her purse in case he became hungry.

“The King was quite amused by this and I was pleased to make a portrait of him that shows him in a setting with a definite Bermuda vibe, displaying him in a relaxed pose.”

Guests at the special reception included leaders of charities that provide services to Bermuda, politicians, officers of the Royal Bermuda Regiment and Bermuda Police Service, and business leaders, as well as members of the public who were accepted through a lottery system.

The Governor gave a speech and the portrait was unveiled on the lawn near the sculpture Whaleen, a representation of a nine-month-old humpback whale created by Bermudian artist Hannah Horsfield from plastic ocean debris — a nod to the King’s longstanding support of environmental causes.

Mr Murdoch reflected on his time with the King in Bermuda: “It was a genuine honour to host him during his visit here, which went incredibly smoothly.

“We asked quite a lot of him, the programme was pretty intense, but the way it turned out and all the people coming out to see him was absolutely incredible.

“The portrait was the icing on the cake to memorialise that. It shows him clearly in Bermuda and it is very special.

“Bermuda made a really positive impression on him and he made a very positive impression on Bermuda.”