Animal-rights protesters have attacked a portrait of King Charles, in a London art gallery.
Two protesters stuck posters on the glass covering the painting.
The painting itself was unharmed, said the Philip Mould Gallery.
The striking art work by Jonathan Yeo, unveiled last month, was the first official painting of the King since his coronation.
The Animal Rising group said its supporters had used water to stick posters to the glass protecting the painting.
They pasted over the royal portrait with a picture of Wallace, a character from the Wallace and Gromit animations.
It was a protest criticising the welfare standards of RSPCA “assured farm” status, with King Charles a patron of the RSPCA.
“With King Charles being such a big fan of Wallace and Gromit, we couldn’t think of a better way to draw his attention,” said Daniel Juniper, one of those involved.
A spokesman for the Animal Rising Group said that no police had attended the scene of the protest and its supporters had then left.
The gallery, which has been showing the painting to the public for free, said the incident had been over quickly and no harm had been done to the artwork.
The painting drew much public attention when the King unveiled it in Buckingham Palace last month.
Painter Jonathan Yeo had included an image of a butterfly, to symbolise metamorphosis and rebirth and the King’s support for environmental causes.
The RSPCA said it was “shocked by this vandalism”, a distraction from its work helping animals.
“We remain confident that our RSPCA Assured scheme is the best way to help farmed animals right now, while campaigning to change their lives in the future,” a spokeswoman said.
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