Who la la? French wax museum unveils its waxworks of King Charles… with questionable results (no wonder he postponed his Paris trip!)

• The King’s likeness will sit in the Grévin Museum beside Queen Elizabeth’s 
• The Grévin Museum has around 250 other wax figures of the rich and famous

A French wax museum has unveiled its latest installation – a somewhat questionable wax depiction of King Charles III.

The Grévin Museum in Paris’s Grands Boulevards has showcased its creations since 1882, and has been the home to thousands of wax statues where visitors can come and take their photos with likenesses of the rich and famous.

Now, the King gets to join the ranks alongside a likeness of Queen Elizabeth and some 250 other wax figures. But it might be fair to say he would not be overly pleased with the results.

The grand unveiling followed news on Friday that the state visit of the King to France will be postponed amid current tensions within the country over pension reform.

The French and British governments released statements saying they took the decision following a phone call between Emmanuel Macron and the King. The statement didn’t say if the French president and the King discussed the rather dodgy 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 late Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is seen next to the waxwork of Rick Genest, known as ‘Zombie Boy’, during the unveiling of the wax statue of Britain’s King Charles

The King gets to join the ranks alongside a likeness of Queen Elizabeth and some 250 other wax figures

The wax museum has over 250 statues of famous French and international celebrities from the Pope, footballing 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 pop in to have every inch of their body measured to produce the best likeness.

But as this was not the case for King Charles, maybe we can attribute that to the rather comical results.

The King’s statue was fitted with one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – an iconic mannerism of the monarch.

Expert wax workers were pictured touching the statue up with paint brushes, pushing the hair into place, and readying it before its unveiling to the world. 

In the images released, the King was placed next to a waxwork 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 adorned the headwear as her famous peals sat around her neck. The waxwork was also given one of the Queen’s iconic broaches as it 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 from head to toe with tattoos of his internal body and skeletal structure.

Expert wax workers were pictured touching the statue up with paint brushes, pushing the hair into place, and readying it before its unveiling to the world

The King’s statue was fitted with one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt. His left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – a iconic mannerism of the monarch

Each statue can take six months to make, and stars will often pop in to have every inch of their body measured to produce the best likeness

The King’s statue was fitted with one of his famous tailored jackets to match a kilt

In the images released, the King was placed next to a waxwork of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth

The King’s left hand was placed in one of the jacket pockets – an iconic mannerism of the monarch

The waxwork unveiling followed the news that King Charles’ 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 rioting 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 fit with a state banquet at Versailles, but there was fear the visit could stir up revolutionaries.

The decision was made after talks between French and British officials who decided to call the trip off for now on security grounds,

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘The King and The Queen Consort’s State Visit to France has been postponed. Their Majesties greatly look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found.’

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