King Charles III’s Royal Portrait Reaches Thousands through Augmented Reality

DEPT, a pioneering technology and marketing services company, is bringing augmented reality to King Charles III’s coronation, in partnership with BBC’s Children in Need and the Royally Big Portrait.

The Royally Big Portrait is a nationwide project, led by artist Sam Barnett, that has asked children to submit their hand-drawn portraits of the King, culminating in a final portrait that has been unveiled at Outernet London – BBC Children in Need Home of the Coronation, from the 1st – 8th May 2023.

Using its innovative technology, DEPT has worked with 8th Wall to create an interactive augmented reality (‘AR') experience that can be accessed via smartphone. This allows those unable to visit the portrait in person to experience it wherever they are in the UK. Through a dynamic web experience hosted on 8th Wall children can enter a playful world with bouncing balls and the portrait of the King, where they can then search for their own portrait of the King and see it the AR experience.

DEPT designed and created the video concept enabling Outernet London visitors to see the unveiled and final Royally Big Portrait, featuring hundreds of thousands of individual portraits of His Majesty drawn by people across the UK. 

Sam Barnett, the artist leading the project, said: “I am proud to be a part of The Royally Big Portrait – celebrating King Charles’ coronation as well as each child’s creativity, whilst giving them the self-belief to achieve and be a part of history. DEPT’s ability to bring stories to life through emerging technologies has enabled people up and down the country to experience this statement portrait of King Charles. What DEPT has created through augmented reality using the children’s portraits is awe-inspiring when you experience it.”

Lauren Chester, Director of Tech Projects at DEPT, said: “We are thrilled to be involved in this exciting project, which marks an historic moment for the country. Using AR we were able to provide utility and democratise this moment by enabling everyone at home to experience this through their smartphone and have the joy of finding and seeing their own portrait’.

To access the simulation, the AR lens is activated by scanning a QR code on your smartphone or using a direct link, available here.