King Charles III's new portrait has been vandalized by environmental activists.
Last month, the King unveiled his first official portrait as reigning monarch - a striking oil painting that measures approximately 8ft 6in by 6ft 6in that shows King Charles in the uniform of the Welsh Guards, posing with his sword as a butterfly lands on his shoulder.
The painting caused an uproar on social media, as people were quick to comment on the use of the color red in the painting - with some describing the portrait as "satanic".
Now, the portrait - which was created by artist Jonathan Yeo - has been targeted by environmental activists.
As reported by Metro, the incident took place on Tuesday (June 11) at the Philip Mould Gallery in London.
Activists from the Animal Rising group used an image of Wallace from the Wallace & Gromit franchise and stuck it over the King's face. They then attached a speech bubble that read: "No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!"
The King has seemingly been targeted due to him being a top patron of RSPCA-affiliated farms, Metro reports.
The stunt comes after Animal Rising published a report following an investigation into 45 farms across the UK. The group claims that it found evidence of animal cruelty at every single farm - amassing in 280 alleged legal breaches.
It looks like this portrait just cannot catch a break, as it has been the subject of ridicule ever since it was unveiled at Buckingham Palace on May 15, 2024.
At the time, an announcement shared on the official UK Royal Family X page read: "Today, The King unveiled a new portrait by @RealJonathanYeo at Buckingham Palace.
"The painting - commissioned by The Draper’s Company - is the first official portrait to be completed since His Majesty’s Coronation. It will hang in Draper’s Hall in London."
After being unveiled, it wasn't long before social media users on the platform shared their thoughts... and they were far from complimentary.
One person just replied: "It's a bit... red."
"Absolutely hideous," a second added. "How on earth does the Palace allow such a terrible official portrait to be approved like this?"
A third wrote: "Not good at all. he looks like he's in the midst of mt. doom....and the gray reminds me of striped pajamas [...] these are about as undignified as you can get."
"That's a solid no from me," another X user typed. "Straight to the attic."
Regarding the red, some people thoughts the painting looked "Satanic", with others saying it looked like King Charles was "covered in blood" or "burning in hell".
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