King Charles' New Portrait Defaced By Animal Rights Activists With Mocking Stickers

Animal rights activists defaced King Charles III's portrait using "Wallace and Gromit" posters to protest the RSPCA's Assured Scheme.

The group, known as Animal Rising, vandalized the portrait in an attempt to urge King Charles to withdraw his support for the charity. Activist Daniel Juniper highlighted the protest to draw attention to alleged animal cruelty at RSPCA Assured farms.

Visitors criticized the defacing of King Charles' new portrait as juvenile, while some online commenters defended it.

Animal Rising activists have defaced the newly unveiled portrait of King Charles at the Philip Mould Gallery in London. The portrait, the first official depiction of King Charles since his ascension, drew inspiration from his environmental advocacy.

According to the Daily Mail, two protesters covered the monarch's face around noon with "Wallace and Gromit" stickers criticizing the RSPCA. One sticker showed Wallace's face, while the other featured a speech bubble stating, "No Cheese, Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!"

By defacing his portrait, the activists urge Charles to halt his endorsement of the RSPCA, where he serves as Royal Patron until the charity abandons the Assured Scheme, intended to uphold animal welfare standards.

Daniel Juniper, one of the participants, commented: "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."

He continued: "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," Juniper added, per the Daily Mail.

The activist previously stated at 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."

Linda, 75, visiting the gallery with a friend, remarked, "It's a ludicrous way to protest and a stupid thing to do." She added: "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 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."

However, a commenter on X defended the protesters with one writing: "Well, to be honest, it was a terrible portrait. Whoever did it has absolutely no talent. They wasted their money paying the clown that did it."

"This is the first time I've seen them vandalize bad art. Usually, they only target aesthetic stuff," another added.

The activists aimed to spotlight a recent investigation into 45 RSPCA Assured farms with their action. They allege they found 280 legal breaches and 94 breaches of DEFRA regulations.

The group claims there is evidence of animal cruelty and suffering at every farm, including dead and dying baby chickens, dead pigs in walkways, and salmon being eaten alive by sea lice.

Orla Coghlan, an Animal Rising spokesperson, compared the situation to Feathers McGraw fooling Wallace into a bank heist, stating, "The RSPCA has been fooling the British public into thinking their factory farms are acceptable places for animals to live."

She continued: "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."

The artist behind Charles' portrait, Jonathan Yeo, said he does his best to "capture the life experiences the life experiences etched into any individual sitter's face."

"In this case, my aim was also to make reference to the traditions of royal portraiture but in a way that reflects a 21st Century monarchy and, above all else, to communicate the subject's deep humanity," Yeo said of the artwork, per Daily Mail.

He concluded, "I'm unimaginably grateful for the opportunity to capture such an extraordinary and unique person, especially at the historic moment of becoming King."