New King Charles portrait vandalized in London gallery, animal rights group says
Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on June 11, 2024
(LONDON) — A recently unveiled portrait of King Charles was vandalized in a London gallery on Tuesday by an activist animal rights group, the group said.
Two of the group’s supporters “pasted the face of the iconic British character Wallace over His Majesty’s,” the group said in a press release, referencing a character from “Wallace and Gromit,” an animated film series. The group released a video of the vandalization on social media.
Charles last month became the royal patron of the RSPCA Assured charity, which works to improve the lives of animals on farms. And the activist group on Tuesday said its action was part of an effort to stop the “awful suffering across farms being endorsed by the RSPCA.”
“The action highlighted the cruelty on RSPCA Assured farms the group had exposed over the previous weekend,” the group said.
The Metropolitan Police Service said they had not been called regarding the incident but went to the gallery on Tuesday in response to “footage circulating on social media.”
Staff told police that there was no damage to the painting or glass covering it, and that the protesters left when asked, according to Met Police.
“The gallery did not wish to report a crime and as such there is no further action by police,” Met Police said in a statement.
The artwork by Jonathan Yeo, a U.K.-based artist, was unveiled during a ceremony in May at Buckingham Palace.
The 6-foot-tall portrait is on view at the Philip Mould Gallery through June 21.
ABC News’ Helena Skinner and Zoe Magee contributed to this report.
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