Activists from the animal rights group Animal Rising gave King Charles’ first official portrait an unexpected makeover with stickers. The bold move caught by the cameras occurred at the Philip Mould Gallery in London, where the painting will be on display until June 21.
The protestors shared a video on social media, showing two group members covering the portrait with two stickers, using paint rollers. The original piece, made by Jonathon Yeo, features King Charles in a crimson backdrop, and it sparked mixed reactions upon its reveal. With these new stickers, the painting will face a new level of controversy.
An animal activists group has covered the new King Charles portrait with Wallace from Wallace & Gromit.
“No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms” pic.twitter.com/Z0Yl6hG1CD
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 11, 2024
The activists mixed the king’s portrait with an image of Wallace, the beloved character from the British animated series “Wallace and Gromit.” In the new iteration, there was a speech bubble that said: “No cheese Gromit, look at all of this cruelty on RSCPA farms,” highlining a report by Animal Raising which unveiled mistreatment on 45 farms certified by the RSPCA’s Assured scheme. Their reports found “severe animal cruelty” at all farms visited.
This act comes after King Charles lll was recently named the royal patron of the RSPCA. However, the protestors seem to think his work has not impacted animal farms positively, as stated by one of the activists who told The Telegraph:
“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.”
