When King Charles III unveiled his first official portrait as King in May, fans – and potentially Charles himself – were taken aback. After all, instead of showing the royal in serene and true-to-life tones, most of the painting featured fiery reds with bold strokes. And now, less than two months since the unveiling, the painting has had quite a transformation.
But, before anyone begins to think that the painting’s red tones have been toned down, the transformation is quite different than that. Instead, the animal rights group Animal Rising vandalized the artwork this week, which was on display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London.
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In addition to replacing the King’s face with Wallace’s face from Wallace and Gromit, the protestors also glued a speech bubble underneath reading “No Cheese, Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!”
According to the activist group on social media, the effort was to raise awareness against the RSPCA organization, which Charles recently became a Royal patron of, per TMZ. “The lighthearted act played on the King’s love of Wallace and Gromit and his status as Royal Patron of the @RSPCA_official,” the protest group wrote on X. “Animal Rising has called on the King to suspend his support for the charity until they drop the Assured Scheme.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 14: The portrait of King Charles III by artist Jonathan Yeo is unveiled in the blue drawing room at Buckingham Palace on May 14, 2024, in London, England. (Photo by Aaron Chown-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“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!” Daniel Juniper, one of the perpetrators, said in a statement for Animal Rising. “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 statement continued.
Animal Rising spokesperson Orla Coghlan also spoke in the statement. “Just as Feathers McGraw fooled Wallace into a bank heist, the RSPCA has been fooling the British public into thinking their factory farms are – in any way – an acceptable place for animals to live,” Coghlan said. “It’s clear from the scenes across 45 RSPCA Assured farms that there’s no kind way to farm animals”.
“The RSPCA needs to take a bolder stance on the transition to a plant-based food system, beginning with calls for drastic meat reduction,” Coghlan continued. “The charity can, once again, lead the way for animals in the UK, rather than keeping them in misery.”
Charles has yet to speak out on the vandalism, but we’re sure it’ll be quickly reversed back to its original form too. Most of all, will their message be heard? We’ll have to wait and see!
Before you go, click here to see the best photos from Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage.
Prince Charles, Princess Diana
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