The first official portrait of King Charles III, since his coronation, was defaced by two animal rights activists on Tuesday at the Philip Mould Gallery in London. The protesters had stuck the painting with stickers of Wallace and Gromit, from children's film series.
The group 'Animal Rising' posted a video on social media showing the protesters covering the painting with the stickers. The video shows two protesters approaching the portrait and sticking the stickers on the King’s face.
"No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms," read the message written on the poster. In the social media post, the group also wrote: “Find out why King Charles, patron of the RSPCA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals], should ask them to drop the Assured Scheme."
According to NBC News, the message refers to the animated characters' love for cheese and the “alleged animal cruelty at a number of farms certified by the RSPCA, a British charity.”
The portrait of the King unveiled on May 14, shows Charles donned in the uniform of the Welsh Guards with a sword in hand and a butterfly landing on his shoulder.
The portrait was by artist Jonathan Yeo and it was kept on show at the gallery in London till June 21.
The group later in a statement said that the painting was not damaged as the posters were affixed with water sprayed onto the bag and are easily removable.
“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!” said Daniel Juniper, one of the protesters who defaced the painting.
“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,” he added.