King Charles’ First Official Portrait as King Vandalized
King Charles III's first official portrait since his coronation was vandalized while on view at a public gallery and the whole thing was caught on camera.
On Tuesday, June 11, a video was released by animal rights activist group Animal Rising, and it quickly went viral as it showed two people walking up to the painting—protected by glass—at the Philip Mould gallery before placing an image of Wallace from the cartoon series Wallace and Gromit over the 75-year-old monarch's face and a blurb of text in the middle of his chest, which read, "No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!"–a nod to the animated series and alleged cruelty at farms certified by a British charity, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The group also released photos of their finished work, followed by an altered video depicting Charles unveiling the vandalized portrait as if it was the debut of the original painting by artist Jonathan Yeo alongside the caption: "Me when I discover RSPCA cruelty👀Comment KING to find out why he’s been Wallaced…"
The all-red painting, which previously stirred a debate amongst internet users across the globe and showed Charles in his red Welsh Guards ceremonial military uniform, was supposed to be on display at the gallery in London until Friday, June 21, with no reservation required to see it. The status of that since the protest remains unknown, as no official statement has yet been released by the gallery.
Ironically enough, the gallery only promoted viewing the piece on its Instagram Story hours before it was vandalized, sharing a picture of the painting alongside the caption, "Few more days left to see The King," and a link to the gallery's website.
The incident also notably occurred just four days before the highly-anticipated Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on June 15.
