Vegan activists vandalise King’s official portrait
Vegan activists have vandalised a portrait of the King.
Footage shows two Animal Rising protesters appearing to deface the painting of the King, by Jonathan Yeo, with Wallace and Gromit stickers.
The men use rollers to plaster a picture of Wallace, from the children’s film series Wallace and Gromit, alongside a quote which states: “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms.”
A statement from the activist group said they had chosen to redecorate the portrait of the King on Pall Mall in Philip Mould gallery to bring attention to animal cruelty.
The action was intended to raise awareness of Animal Rising’s investigation of 45 RSPCA Assured farms, described as “indefensible” by Chris Packham and “effectively fraud” by Crown Court Judge Ayesha Smart.
The action played on the King’s love of Wallace and Gromit and his status as Royal Patron of the RSPCA, the group said.
Daniel Juniper, former Early Years Practitioner and one of those involved said: “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.
“Charles has made it clear he is sensitive to the suffering of animals in UK farms; now is the perfect time for him to step up and call on the RSPCA to drop the Assured Scheme and tell the truth about animal farming.”
The report, released by Animal Rising on Sunday, contains investigations from 45 farms across the UK - including chickens, pigs, salmon, and trout.
It alleges 280 legal breaches and 94 breaches of Defra regulations.
The portrait of the King will be on public display at the gallery until June 21.
The first official portrait of the King since the Coronation was unveiled last month.
It was painted by Jonathan Yeo, who began work on it in 2021 with sittings at Highgrove and Clarence House.
The final of four sittings took place in November 2023, with Yeo aiming to capture his Majesty’s “life experiences” and how his “role in our public life has transformed”.
The portrait was unveiled by the King, in front of the Queen, the artist and his family, at Buckingham Palace.
It was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then-Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company, intended to be ready for the anniversary in 2022.
The canvas is around 8.5ft by 6.5ft when framed and will eventually hang in Drapers’ Hall.
Philip Mould told The Telegraph he was “delighted to say there was absolutely no damage” to the painting.
It is understood there were four perpetrators responsible for the stunt, two of whom were filming.
They entered the gallery wearing rucksacks and as members of the public.
Staff later unpeeled the two Wallace and Gromit themed stickers and asked the protesters to leave.
In 2012 the Duchess of Cornwall said her husband, the then Prince Charles, enjoyed watching Wallace and Gromit.
The Duchess revealed royal viewing habits when she met children at a reception at Clarence House.
She did so at an event where she was unveiled as patron of the Big Jubilee Lunch, which aimed to bring communities together to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
She told the children: “I love Shaun the Sheep. He’s really funny. My husband Prince Charles - Wallace and Gromit are his favourite people in the world. We always sit and watch them - it’s one of his favourite films.”
The gallery has reported the incident to the police.
The Metropolitan Police was contacted for comment.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
