LONDON (AP) — Four protesters were arrested Saturday after splashing food in the case of a priceless diamond-encrusted crown at the Tower of London.
The Crown Jewels exhibition was closed after members of the group Take Back Power smeared apple crumbs and poured yellow custard – two staple ingredients on British dessert menus – onto a display case containing the Imperial State Crown worn by King Charles III during his coronation in 2023 and during his speech at the opening of Parliament in 2024.
The Metropolitan Police said protesters were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
The group, which advocates a permanent assembly of citizens and wants to tax extreme wealth, said two of its members threw away food and two others were also arrested and placed in a “custard”.
The act of civil disobedience is one of many in which valuable treasures and works of art were turned against political causes. Last year, oil protestors were jailed for throwing a can of tomato soup onto the glass protecting Van Gogh's Sunflowers in London's National Gallery.
Video of the stunt at the Tower of London, once a royal palace also known as the prison where Anne Boleyn, Thomas More and others were executed, shows two protesters attacking the case as other visitors step back in shock.
After an employee intervened and radioed for help, two demonstrators unfurled a banner reading: “Democracy has collapsed. Tax the rich.”
