King Charles' official portrait vandalised
The first offical portrait of King Charles has been vandalised by a group of animal rights activists.
The portrait, which is hanging in London's Philip Mould gallery until June 21st, was targeted by campaign group Animal Rising, who took to the painting with a paint roller to stick signs over the portrait of the monarch.
A video posted to the group's social media accounts captured the vandalism, showing the moment two activists covered the king’s head with an image of the British cartoon character Wallace, from the Wallace and Gromit comedy series.
A speech bubble sign was then also tacked onto the painting with the following caption, “No cheese Gromit, look at all of this cruelty on RSCPA farms.”
The action was designed to bring attention to a new report, released on Sunday by the group, which investigated 45 farms whose welfare standards are guaranteed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), while the Animal Rising group described their findings as “damning,” alleging that they found “severe animal cruelty” at all farms visited.
‼️BREAKING: No Cheese Gromit! King Charles Portrait Redecorated‼️ @RoyalFamily
‼️Find out why King Charles, Patron of the RSPCA should ask them to drop the Assured Scheme -> https://t.co/pTneW0QCWf 👈 pic.twitter.com/jYLHFuxtHB
— Animal Rising (@AnimalRising) June 11, 2024
The vandalism was also a direct response of King Charles became the royal patron of the RSPCA last month despite the allegations of animal cruelty, as the monarch is a self-professed animal lover.
In a statement provided to The Telegraph, an Animal Rising activist explained, “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! 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.”
The RSPCA responded to Animal Rising’s claims in a statement provided to CNN on Tuesday, stating that “any concerns about welfare on RSPCA Assured certified farms are taken extremely seriously and RSPCA Assured is acting swiftly to look into these allegations.”
“We have responded openly and transparently to Animal Rising’s challenges to our farming work,” the statement continued. “While we understand that Animal Rising, like us, want the best for animals, their activity is a distraction and a challenge to the work we are all doing to create a better world for every animal.”
The organisation also said it was “shocked” by the vandalism of the painting, saying “We welcome scrutiny of our work, but we cannot condone illegal activity of any kind.”
According to Philip Mould, owner of the gallery where the portrait is on display, the painting sustained “no damage” since it was protected by a layer of Perspex, as Mould told CNN the adhesive stickers used by the activists stayed on the portrait for “less than ten seconds.”
Image credits: X (Animal Rising - Twitter)