A recently unveiled portrait of King Charles III was given a defacing treatment by animal rights activists at a public gallery in London.

The Animal Rising group shared several posts on social media depicting the vandalized portrait, which was the first official portrait of the British royal since his coronation.

Featuring Charles in his red Welsh Guards ceremonial military uniform, the artwork was unveiled during a Buckingham Palace ceremony in May.

The six-foot-tall portrait by British artist Jonathan Yeo was slated to be on full public display at the Philip Mould Gallery until June 21. However, the fate of the painting now remains in question because the face of the king was replaced with the iconic comical face of the British character Wallace by animal rights activists.

A recently unveiled portrait of King Charles III was vandalized by animal rights activists at a public gallery in London

Image credits: The Royal Family / Instagram

“No cheese Gromit, look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!” read a speech bubble next to the face.

The message was not only a nod to the character’s love for cheese but also a reference to the alleged animal cruelty taking place at a number of farms certified by the British charity known as the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA).

Last month, King Charles became the royal patron of the RSPCA Assured charity, a title his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, held for decades.

“No cheese Gromit, look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!” read the message next to Wallace’s face

Image credits: Animal Rising / Instagram

“The posters were affixed using water sprayed onto the bag of them, and are easily removable without causing damage to the painting,” said a statement from Animal Rising.

The group describes itself as an organization “working towards a sustainable future where humanity shares a positive relationship with animals and nature.”

The non-profit organization also said they “pasted the face of the iconic British character Wallace over His Majesty’s” as part of its effort to stop the “awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.”

One of the activists said they gave the defacing treatment to the painting “to draw his attention to the horrific scenes on RSPCA Assured farms!”

 

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A post shared by Animal Rising (@animal.rising)

“The action highlighted the cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms the group had exposed over the previous weekend,” the statement added.

Daniel Juniper, who was part of the vandalizing duo, also shared a message about the incident.

“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 said.

The six-foot-tall portrait by British artist Jonathan Yeo was unveiled in May with a Buckingham Palace ceremony

🎨 Previous Royal portraits by Jonathan Yeo include ‘HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, 2014’. pic.twitter.com/PTij7SxSQK

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 14, 2024

The internet was left divided over the incident, with some hailing the activists as “heroes,” while others said the king didn’t deserve this on his new first official portrait.

“It’s both good activism AND a hilarious practical [sic] joke. I love it. Well done,” one said, while another quipped, “To the two who carried out this action; you are my heroes.”

“It was an ugly painting anyway 😭 made it better,” read a third comment.

One person who tsk-tsked over the incident said, “This is horrible. I know these are just temporary stickers on top of a protective covering (I’m HOPING one’s there), but the king still doesn’t deserve this to happen to his first new official portrait.”

“Not sure what to think of this. Is vandalising the right way of getting your message across,” another said. “I get your whole point in all you do but vandalism isn’t a way to get everyone to listen. Don’t think the king would after this anyway. It just looks like a waste of your time and resources.”

The Animal Rising group shared a video seemingly manipulated to show the king unveiling a portrait with Wallace’s face

 

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A post shared by Animal Rising (@animal.rising)

Around the time the portrait was unveiled, the artist, Jonathan, spoke about the painting and said it reflects how the British monarch’s role “in our public life has transformed.”

“It was a privilege and pleasure to have been commissioned by The Drapers’ Company to paint this portrait of His Majesty The King, the first to be unveiled since his Coronation,” the artist said.

He noted that the king was still His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales when he commenced the work on the artwork.

The artist behind the portrait called it a “privilege” to paint the portrait and said it reflected how the British monarch’s “role in our public life” has evolved

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A post shared by @jonathanyeo

“Much like the butterfly I’ve painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed,” he continued. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait. To try and capture that for His Majesty The King, who occupies such a unique role, was both a tremendous professional challenge, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed and am immensely grateful for.”

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