King Charles' first official portrait defaced by animal rights activists. Watch
The painting was defaced with a character from the animated franchise Wallace and Gromit
The first official portrait of King Charles since his coronation was vandalised by animal rights activists on Tuesday. The painting by British artist Jonathan Yeo was defaced with a picture of a character from the animated franchise Wallace and Gromit. The Animal Rising group uploaded a video of the vandalism attack at a public gallery in London online.
King Charles' portrait vandalised by animal rights activists
In the video, two animal rights zealots can be seen approaching the portrait of Charles in his red Welsh Guards ceremonial military uniform and placing Wallace's head onto the British monarch's face. The attack left onlookers taken aback as they gasped in shock. The message planted on the painting reads, “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”
The slogan refers to the animated character's fondness for cheese and “the alleged animal cruelty at a number of farms certified by the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals, a British charity,” reports NBC News. While the painting was set to be on free public display at the Philip Mould Gallery until June 21, the vandalism might change the course of its future.
However, the group revealed in a statement that the painting was not damaged. “The posters were affixed using water sprayed onto the bag of them, and are easily removable without causing damage to the painting,” the Animal Rising Group said.
Meanwhile, Daniel Juniper, one of the activists who defaced the painting, said, “With King Charles being such a big fan of Wallace and Gromit, we couldn’t think of a better way to draw his attention to the horrific scenes on RSPCA Assured farms!”
Juniper continued, “Even though we hope this is amusing to His Majesty, we also call on him to seriously reconsider if he wants to be associated with the awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.”
“Charles has made it clear he is sensitive to the suffering of animals in UK farms; now is the perfect time for him to step up and call on the RSPCA to drop the Assured Scheme and tell the truth about animal farming,” the activist added.