Video shows protest group vandalize King Charles' royal portrait with Gromit's face
King Charles' already controversial portrait got an unplanned makeover on Tuesday when an animal rights group vandalized the painting and posted it to social media.
The activist group Animal Rising shared information about the stunt in a press release, citing Charles' recent patronage of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Assured as its motive.
Assured is a non-profit program run by the RSPCA − an animal welfare organization in the U.K. − in which participating farms are expected to comply with the organization's "stringent higher welfare standards" for the treatment of livestock from birth to slaughter.
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Last month, Charles became a royal patron of the charity. Animal Rising took issue with this, however, as it says a recent investigation done by the group found "cruelty and suffering" at the group's the 45 participating farms its members visited.
Carried out by two members of Animal Rising, modifications to the king's portrait, located in the Philip Mould Gallery in London, were not permanent or harmful to the painting's integrity. The group called the demonstration "lighthearted" and "comedic," drawing on the king's love of the animated cartoon, "Wallace and Gromit."
In a video shared by Animal Rising, two people can be seen quickly making their way to the painting with bookbags and paint rollers in hand. In a matter of seconds, they use the rollers to stick two pieces of paper to the portrait: one a cut out of Wallace's head stuck over Charles' own and one of a speech bubble made to appear like it's coming from Wallace/the king's mouth.
“No Cheese Gromit. Look At All This Cruelty On RSPCA Farms!" it read.
"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," said the Animal Rising press release.
The posters were affixed using water sprayed onto the back of them and are easily removable without causing damage to the painting, the group said.
Another clip shared by Animal Rising showed a worker at the gallery removing the posters soon after without any apparent damage.
King Charles and the royal family have not yet responded to the stunt.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: King Charles' portrait vandalized by protest group with Gromit's face
