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 houses thousands of wax statues where visitors can come and have their photo taken in the likeness of the rich and famous.
Now the king joins the ranks alongside a likeness of Queen Elizabeth and some 250 other wax figures. But it might be fair to say he wouldn’t be too happy with the results.
The big unveiling follows news on Friday that the king’s state visit to France will be postponed amid ongoing tensions in the country over pension reform.
The French and British governments released statements saying they made the decision following a phone call between Emmanuel Macron and the king. The statement does not say whether the French president and the king discussed the rather dubious waxwork.
The waxwork of Britain’s King Charles III is unveiled during a presentation at the Grevin wax museum in Paris today
The wax statue of Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II is seen next to the wax work of Rick Genest, known as ‘Zombie Boy’, during the unveiling of the wax statue of Britain’s King Charles Brittany
The King joins the ranks alongside a likeness 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, 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 come to have every inch of their body measured to produce the best likeness.
But since that wasn’t the case for King Charles, perhaps that can be attributed to the rather comical results.
The king’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous bespoke jackets paired with a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – an iconic monarch mannerism.
Expert wax workers were pictured touching the statue with brushes, pushing the hair into place and preparing it before it was unveiled to the world.
In the images released, the king was placed next to a wax statue of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
His statue – arguably even worse than the king’s – was clad in a lime green robe and hat. Flowers adorned the headgear as her famous chimes sat around her neck. The waxwork also received one of the Queen’s signature brooches as he clutched a white handbag.
Rather menacingly, the Queen’s statue was pictured behind a man known as ‘Zombie Boy’, a Canadian artist whose real name is Rick Genest. He is covered head to toe in tattoos of his inner body and skeletal structure.
Expert wax workers were pictured touching the statue with brushes, putting the hair in place and preparing it before it was unveiled to the world.
The king’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous bespoke jackets paired with a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – an iconic monarch mannerism
Each statue can take six months to make, and stars will often come to have every inch of their body measured to produce the best likeness.
The king’s statue was outfitted in one of his famous bespoke jackets paired with a kilt
In the images released, the king was placed next to a wax statue of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth
The king’s left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – an iconic monarch mannerism
The unveiling of the wax work followed news that King Charles’ trip to France was postponed – the first state visit of his reign.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is currently struggling to keep order on the streets amid riots and sustained protests over his pension reforms.
The king was due to arrive with Camilla, the queen consort, on Sunday for a four-day trip accompanied by a state banquet at Versailles, but it was feared the visit could stir up revolutionaries.
The decision was taken 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.
