A French wax museum has unveiled its latest installation – a somewhat questionable wax figure of King Charles III.
The Grévin Museum on the Grands Boulevards in Paris has been exhibiting his creations since 1882 and is home to thousands of wax figures that visitors can come to and take their pictures with likenesses of the rich and famous.
Now the king may join the ranks alongside an effigy of Queen Elizabeth and some 250 other wax figures. But it would be fair to say he wouldn’t be too happy with the results.
The grand revelation followed Friday’s news that the King’s state visit to France will be postponed amid the country’s current tensions over pension reforms.
The French and British governments released 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 Britain’s King Charles III will be unveiled today during a presentation at the Grevin Wax Museum in Paris
The wax figure of the late British Queen Elizabeth II is seen next to the wax figure of Rick Genest, known as ‘Zombie Boy’, during the unveiling of the wax figure of Britain’s King Charles
The King joins the ranks alongside an effigy of Queen Elizabeth and some 250 other wax figures
The wax museum has more than 250 statues of famous French and international celebrities from the Pope, football legends Kylian Mbappé and Zinedine Zidane, and movie stars Penélope Cruz and Marilyn Monroe.
Each image can take six months to create, and stars often emerge to have every inch of their bodies measured to produce the best likeness.
But since this was not the case for King Charles, perhaps we can attribute that to the rather comical results.
The king’s statue was outfitted with one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was thrust into one of the coat pockets – an iconic mannerism of the monarch.
Expert waxworkers were depicted touching the statue with paintbrushes, pushing the hair into place and preparing it before revealing it 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 – arguably even worse than the king’s – was dressed in a lime green dress and hat. Flowers decorated the headgear while her famous peals were around her neck. The wax figure was also given one of the Queen’s iconic brooches for holding a white handbag.
The Queen’s statue was depicted rather menacingly 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 structure.
Expert waxworkers were depicted touching the statue with paintbrushes, pushing the hair into place and preparing it before revealing it to the world
The king’s statue was outfitted with one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was thrust into one of the coat pockets – an iconic mannerism of the monarch
Each image can take six months to create, and stars often emerge to have every inch of their body measured to produce the best likeness
The king’s statue was outfitted with 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 coat pockets – an iconic mannerism of the monarch
The unveiling of the wax museum followed news that King Charles’s trip to France – the first state visit of his reign – has been postponed.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is currently struggling to maintain order on the streets amid riots and ongoing protests over his pension reforms.
The king was due to arrive on Sunday with Camilla, the queen consort, for a four-day trip that would include a state banquet at Versailles, but it was feared the visit could stir up revolutionaries.
The decision was made after talks between French and British officials who decided to call off the trip for security reasons.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: “The state visit of the King and Queen consort to France has been postponed. Their Majesties greatly look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates are available.”