A French wax museum has unveiled its latest installation: a somewhat questionable wax representation of King Charles III.
The Grévin Museum on the Grands Boulevards in Paris has exhibited his creations since 1882 and has been home to thousands of wax statues where visitors can get up close and personal with portraits of the rich and famous.
Now, the King joins the ranks alongside an image of Queen Elizabeth and 250 other wax figures. But it would be fair to say that he wouldn’t be too pleased with the results.
The grand opening followed news on Friday that the King’s state visit to France will be postponed amid ongoing tensions within the country over pension reform.
The French and British governments issued statements saying they made the decision following a phone call between Emmanuel Macron and the King. The statement did not say whether the French president and the king discussed the rather dodgy wax figure.
The wax figure of King Charles III of Great Britain is unveiled today during a presentation at the Grevin wax museum in Paris.
The wax statue of Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II is seen next to the wax figure of Rick Genest, known as ‘Zombie Boy’, during the unveiling of the wax statue of Britain’s King Charles.
The King joins the ranks alongside an image of Queen Elizabeth and 250 other wax figures.
The wax museum has more than 250 statues of French and international celebrities from the Pope, soccer legends Kylian Mbappé and Zinedine Zidane, and movie stars Penélope Cruz and Marilyn Monroe.
Each statue can take six months to make, and stars will often appear to measure every inch of its body to produce the best likeness.
But since this was not the case for King Charles, we can perhaps chalk that up to the rather comical results.
The King’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets, an iconic gesture of the monarch.
Skilled wax workers were photographed touching the statue with brushes, setting the hair in place and preparing it before its unveiling to the world.
In the images released, the King was placed next to a wax figure of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
Her statue, possibly even worse than the King’s, was dressed in a lime green dress and hat. Her flowers adorned her headdress while her famous peals sat around her neck. The wax figure was also given one of the Queen’s iconic brooches as she clutched a white handbag.
Quite menacingly, the Queen’s statue was depicted behind a man known as ‘Zombie Boy’, a Canadian artist whose real name is Rick Genest. He is covered from head to toe with tattoos of his inner body and skeletal frame.
Skilled wax workers were photographed touching the statue with brushes, setting the hair in place and preparing it before its unveiling to the world.
The King’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets, an iconic gesture of the monarch.
Each statue can take six months to make, and stars will often appear to measure every inch of its body to produce the best likeness.
The King’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt.
In the images released, the King was placed next to a wax figure of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
The king’s left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets, an iconic gesture of the monarch.
The unveiling of the wax figure followed news that King Charles’ trip to France, the first state visit of his reign, had been postponed.
The government of French President Emmanuel Macron is currently struggling to maintain order in the streets amid sustained riots and protests over his pension reforms.
The king was due to arrive with Camilla, the queen consort, on Sunday for a four-day trip that included a state banquet at Versailles, but it was feared the visit could incite revolutionaries.
The decision was made after talks between French and British officials who decided to cancel the trip for now for security reasons.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The king and queen consort’s state visit to France has been postponed. Their Majesties look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found.”
