King Charles will maintain his focus on this weekend's Trooping the Colour celebrations following an attack on his latest portrait, it has been claimed.
This follows an act of vandalism by two Animal Rising protesters at the Philip Mould gallery in London, where the monarch's latest red portrait was covered in Wallace and Gromit inspired decals.
The protesters covered the King's face with an image of Wallace and added a speech bubble next to the face, containing the words: "No cheese Gromit, look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!"
Buckingham Palace and King Charles have both declined to comment on the incident.
The latest portrait of King Charles was vandalised by Animal Rising protesters today
Animal Rising / PA
Addressing the incident on GB News, Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker says the King's mind "will be focussed very much on Trooping the Colour" taking place this weekend, and will "not want to give publicity" to the protesters.
Cameron told host Martin Daubney: "Buckingham Palace say they're not going to be commenting. I suspect it's because they don't want to give this group the oxygen of publicity, encouraging more acts of vandalism."
Admitting that King Charles is believed to be "a fan of Wallace and Gromit", Cameron added that the King's priorities are with the upcoming events of the Royal Family calendar.
Cameron explained: "I think the King's mind is going to be very much focused on both Trooping the Colour, which is happening on Saturday, as well as Order of the Garter, which is happening on Monday."
Animal Rising protesters attacked the portrait of King Charles at the Philip Mould gallery in London
Animal Rising
The portrait was targeted by Animal Rising due to the King being a Royal Patron of the RSPCA charity.
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Daniel Juniper, one of those involved in the attack on the portrait, said the protesters "couldn't think of a better way" to draw the monarch's attention to their cause.
In a statement, Juniper 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."
Cameron Walker says the King's mind will be 'focussed on Trooping the Colour' this weekend
GB News
The RSPCA has said that it is "shocked" by the act of vandalism and that the attack on the painting was a "distraction" from its work helping animals.
A spokesperson said: "We welcome scrutiny of our work, but we cannot condone illegal activity of any kind. Our staff and volunteers work extremely hard rescuing, caring for and speaking up for animals.
"Animal Rising's sustained activity is distracting from our focus on the work that really matters, helping thousands of animals every day. We remain confident that the RSPCA Assured Scheme is the best way to help farmed animals rights."
