Two eco-activists have been ordered to pay £3,500 to fix a waxwork of the King after slapping the Madame Tussauds model with vegan chocolate cake.
Eilidh McFadden, 20, and Tom Johnson, 29, were filmed hitting the Monarch’s statue in the face with cake in a Just Stop Oil protest inside the world-famous tourist attraction on October 24 last year.
In a speech after the stunt, they described the “destruction and poisoning of our planet” and called for “immediate action, not just words”.
McFadden and Johnson denied criminal damage over the stunt but were convicted at trial, and have been ordered to pay £1750 in compensation each to the owners of Madame Tussauds, Merlin Entertainment.
The money will cover repainting the waxwork, as well as the cleaning of clothes and real hair wigs, and the royal set including a red throne.
Finding the pair guilty, District Judge Neeta Minhas said the damage they caused was “not minor or temporary”.
“If the damage is significant, even within a peaceful protest, it would not be disproportionate to have a conviction.”
When they were first charged, the damage to the waxwork was estimated at £170,000.
The court heard the activists smeared cakes topped with shaving foam into the waxwork face of the King, before quoting Charles’s own words on climate change.
During the trial, prosecutor Jonathan Bryan suggested the stunt had “done nothing whatsoever to help those persons affected by climate change”, adding: “Putting a custard pie on a waxwork model of King Charles is not going to convince anyone about climate change, it is a totally trivial action.”
Opening the case, Mr Bryan said: “Mr Johnson and Ms McFadden, like thousands of others, went into and made their way through the room in which models of the royal family were on display – four figures including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate.
“However, Mr Johnson and Ms McFadden weren’t there simply to enjoy the display and take some photos for their friends, they were climate protesters from Just Stop Oil.
“They removed their outer clothing to reveal Just Stop Oil T-shirts they were wearing underneath.
“They took out a cake, topped with some sort of foam and each in turn slapped the cake into the face of the model of King Charles rather in the manner of a slapstick comedy using custard pies.”
Charles’ model, along with those of the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales were removed from display until the following morning.
The court heard some staff had to work an extra five hours, while admission was halted for almost an hour, which could have prevented up to 900 people entering during the busy half-term holiday.
Johnson said they had rejected the idea of using hot soup, while McFadden told the court she had practised the cake stunt with another person.
“The substance was carefully chosen to inflict as little damage as possible,” said Johnson.
McFadden added: “Shaving foam on a waxwork is nothing compared to the damage we see from the climate crisis.”
Johnson, a self-employed artist, was sentenced to 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs on top of compensation.
McFadden, who has three previous convictions for aggravated trespass, was was handed a 12-month community order including 80 hours of unpaid work, plus £250 in costs and the compensation.
