"Democracy Has Collapsed" "Tax the Rich"... Food Protest Targets Crown Worn by King Charles III

Imperial Crown Display at Tower of London Targeted
Group Including Teenagers Stages Food-Throwing Protest
"Time for the Ultra-Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share," Protesters Say

A civil society group in the United Kingdom was arrested in London after staging a protest by throwing food onto the display case containing the 'Imperial Crown,' which King Charles III wore at his coronation. According to the Guardian on December 6 (local time), the London Metropolitan Police announced that they had apprehended members of the group 'Take Back Power,' who threw apple crumble and yellow custard cream onto the Imperial Crown display at the Tower of London, and are investigating them on charges of criminal damage.

Members of the British civic group "Take Back Power" stood holding a banner that read "Democracy has collapsed. Tax the rich" after throwing apple crumble and yellow custard cream onto the Imperial Crown display case at the Tower of London. Official website

In a video released by the group, the members are seen entering the exhibition hall, taking apple crumble out of a bag, and throwing it at the glass of the display case, as well as repeatedly pouring custard liquid onto the case. They also held up a banner reading, "Democracy has collapsed. Tax the rich." Apple crumble, a classic British dessert made with mashed apples, flour, and butter, is typically eaten with custard cream.

During the act of throwing food at the display case, the protesters shouted, "Britain has collapsed. We have come to this place, a symbol of the nation's jewels, to take back power." A 19-year-old protester stated, "Britain is falling apart before our eyes. Homeless people walk the very street where King Charles III passed for his coronation," adding, "There are more empty homes than homeless people in this country. It is time for the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share."

King Charles III of the United Kingdom wearing a crown at the State Opening of Parliament last year. Photo by AP Yonhap News

The 'Imperial Crown' is a symbol of the British monarchy and has been used since the coronation of George I (1714-1727). The crown was remade in 1937 for the memorial ceremony of George VI to be lighter and more comfortable to wear. It is known to weigh 1.1 kilograms and is adorned with 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, and 11 emeralds.

This incident is part of a wave of protests targeting works of art and precious treasures to draw attention to political causes. In September, environmental activists threw paint at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, and in 2022, a man threw a cake at the 'Mona Lisa' at the Louvre Museum in France while shouting, "Think of the Earth."

Other incidents include tomato soup thrown at Van Gogh's masterpiece 'Sunflowers' at the National Gallery in London, mashed potatoes hurled at Monet's 'Haystacks' at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany, and glue-covered hands and hair rubbed or tomato sauce thrown at Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' at the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands. Botticelli's 'Primavera' at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, and Picasso's 'Massacre in Korea' at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, have also reportedly been targeted in similar ways.

The Guardian reported that the Royal Jewels exhibition room at the Tower of London-which serves as a royal palace and is well known as the prison where Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, and Thomas More, the 16th-century politician and author of 'Utopia,' were executed-was closed immediately after the protest but has since reopened.