Activists from the Animal Rising group attacked the new official portrait of King Charles III in a London gallery on Tuesday, covering the sovereign's head with the face of the character Wallace, from the animated series Wallace and Gromit. The official portrait of Charles III has been on display since mid-May at the Philip Mold Gallery in London. The owner assured that “no damage” had been done to the canvas, which is “safe”. “We anticipated that there could be this type of action,” added Philip Mould.
Painted by the famous British artist Jonathan Yeo, the portrait depicts the king in the uniform of the Welsh Guards regiment against a scarlet red background. It was commissioned by the Drapers' Company, one of London's historic trading guilds, at whose headquarters it will subsequently be exhibited.
Animal Rising presents itself as a non-violent organization advocating for a society where humans share a positive relationship with animals and nature. Recently, the group published a report denouncing “animal suffering and horrible cruelty” on several farms whose products display the RSCPA label, which supposedly guarantees good breeding conditions.
King Charles III, a long-time advocate for the environment and sustainable agriculture, is the patron of the RSCPA. A spokesperson for the RSCPA said he was “shocked” by this act of “vandalism”. “We welcome scrutiny of our work,” but Animal Rising “diverts the focus of our efforts away from what really matters: helping thousands of animals every day,” he added. The RSCPA association also claims to be investigating the accusations in Animal Rising's report.
Last year, Animal Rising activists stole three lambs from the Sandringham estate, owned by King Charles III in Norfolk, to denounce the breeding of animals for food.
- Animal Rising continues to mobilize against animal cruelty and has a history of taking such direct actions to draw attention to their cause. The recent vandalism act follows their growing list of activities aimed at denouncing what they see as systemic abuse within regulated agricultural practices.
