King Charles' official portrait vandalised by animal rights activists (2024)

King Charles' first official portrait was vandalised by animal rights campaigners today while on display at the Philip Mould gallery in London.

Two protesters from group called Animal Rising climbed over security rope in front of shocked visitors before defacing the painting with Wallace and Gromit-inspired poster.

At around midday, the duo covered the monarch's face with an image of the animated character Wallace and stuck a speech bubble to the painting with a message about 'cruelty' on RSPCA farms.

It read: 'No Cheese, Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!'

The painting - which was partly inspired by the King's history of environmental work -is understood to be kept behind Perspex, so should not have been damaged.

Animal Rising are calling on King Charles to suspend his support for the charity, of which he is the Royal Patron, until they drop the Assured Scheme - which is there to protect animal welfare standards.

Do you know these activists? Email matthew.cox@mailonline.co.uk

Daniel Juniper and Ben Thomas put up the stickers and stood in reception until they were asked to leave. They stayed nearby the gallery for around 2 hours, but police never showed.

'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,' Mr Juniper said.

'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.'

He told the Daily Mail: 'We chose to take part in the action today to directly communicate with King Charles today.

'He is the Royal patron of the RSPCA and we have released the UK's investigation into the RSPCA.

'We are calling on the RSPCA to drop the assured scheme and for King Charles to stand up for the animals and the environment that he loves and start protecting it by getting the RSPCA to drop the assurance scheme.

'We didn't damage the painting at all. The painting is covered in glass.

'The aim of today was to create public discourse and directly communicate with King Charles, the RSPCA and the public, but we were ok with getting arrested because we believe this issue is really important.'

He previously told VegFest: 'I believe in fighting for animals and the climate and will stop at nothing until we have a kind, liveable, sustainable future for all life.'

Mr Thomas added today: 'American tourists who saw the action were laughing and they found it funny and asked to take pictures of us. The reaction was quite positive.

'In this portrait specifically there is a butterfly on King Charles' shoulder to represent how he cares for the environment.

'He takes a lot of pride in caring about the environment and animal farming is a huge contributor to the climate crisis.

'So if he was actually aware of what this scheme which he is a patron of is actively doing then I believe he would be against that and be pro the message we are trying to present.'

Linda, 75, who was visiting the gallery today with her friend said: 'It's a ludicrous way to protest and a stupid thing to do.

'It's just completely juvenile. If we had been here when it had happened, I would have been really upset.'

Lois, 68, and Jim, 73, a married couple who visiting from America, added:'I don't think they should be defacing property that doesn't belong to them. People don't have the right to deface property that doesn't belong to them.

'They should have been arrested and prosecuted and should have to face the consequences for their actions.'

The action is an attempt by the group to raise awareness for their recent investigation into 45 RSPCA Assured farms where they allegedly found 280 legal breaches and 94 breaches of DEFRA regulations.

The activists claim to have found animal cruelty and suffering at each farm, including alleged scenes of dead and dying baby chickens, dead pigs left in farm walkways, and salmon being eaten alive by sea lice.

Orla Coghlan, an Animal Rising spokesperson, said: 'Just as Feathers McGraw fooled Wallace into a bank heist, the RSPCA has been fooling the British public into thinking their factory farms are - in any way - an acceptable place for animals to live.

'It's clear from the scenes across 45 RSPCA Assured farms that there's no kind way to farm animals.

'The RSPCA needs to take a bolder stance on the transition to a plant-based food system, beginning with calls for drastic meat reduction. The charity can, once again, lead the way for animals in the UK, rather than keeping them in misery.'

Gallery owner Philip Mould told the PA news agency: 'We had anticipated that there might be these type of responses.

'[The painting] is safely secured in its frame with protective layers.

'One always lives with that thought these days. I wasn't hugely surprised.

'The attack on the picture was not actually of a serious nature. The perpetrators put water on the surface very quickly in a swift manoeuvre and then they added stickers to that.

'No damage was done. The stickers only remained up for about 10 or 15 seconds, and then were taken down by my gallery staff.

'I asked the individuals to leave and they did.'

The group also caused chaos in April 2023 as they stormed the Scottish Grand National. The track atAyr Racecourse was infiltrated by 24 protestors who were later charged.

Animal Rising is an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, and posted before the£200,000 race: 'Twenty-five supporters of Animal Rising have made it onto the track at the Scottish Grand National, to put their bodies in the way of harm, and protect animals.

'They're attempting to attach themselves to jumps and gates in order to cancel the big race.

'This afternoon 8-year-old Oscar Elite died on the very same track. We take action today with them in our hearts.

'A horse dies every other day in racing in the UK. We are here to protect horses by saying NO to this barbaric 'sport'.

'There are plenty of other things we can have fun doing on a Saturday afternoon that don't involve watching animals come to harm.

'Last week at Aintree was just the beginning. The Summer of Animal Rising is upon us.'

But the disruption didn't delay the event and the 18-horse race and was won by racehorse Kitty's Light.

King Charles became the RSPCA's Royal Patron last month with the charity referencing his 'huge passion for nature and regenerative farming and his continued support for the RSPCA and the future of animal welfare' after the announcement.

It adds that though there is no specific job description for the role, first held by Queen Victoria in 1840, 'they play a vital role in recognising and promoting the contributions and achievements of charitable organisations like the RSPCA'.

The charity's Assured scheme involves six pledges promoting animal welfare. Assured farms should never cage livestock, provide a 'physically and mentally stimulating environment', have their animals slaughtered humanely, give more living space to animals, use antibiotics responsibly and be traceable from food they produce.

Animal Rising's report claims that investigators founda dead and decomposing pig in a walkway of one farm and a shed containing approximately 64,000 chickens on another.

RSPCA President Chris Packham commented on the exposé by saying: 'I found [the footage] extraordinarily difficult to watch. I felt sick, frankly. Animal suffering is animal suffering no matter where it is, but when it's happening in your own backyard - when we should be in a position to guard against it - it hurts more.'

According to The Times, he has asked RSPCA executives to suspend the Assured scheme on the back of Animal Rising's report.

The RSPCA have said that they will investigate the allegations but would not scrap the initiative, adding that the majority of farms meet the required standards.

The portrait vandalised today, painted by renowned artist Jonathan Yeo, was in part inspired by the King's history of environmental commitment.

It was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then-Prince of Wales's 50 years as a member of The Drapers' Company anddepicts His Majesty wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975.

Yeo spoke of a butterfly on the portrait echoing Charles's 'metamorphosis' from Prince to King during the process - and the monarch joked that it was nice to know he was a chrysalis. But it was also a reflection of his lifelong commitment to the environment.

The canvas size - approximately 8.5ft by 6.5ft framed - was carefully considered to fit within the architecture of Drapers' Hall and the context of the paintings it will eventually hang alongside, but it is currently on display in London's Philip Mould gallery.