Australian subjects not travelling to the United Kingdom this weekend to see the coronation of King Charles III were offered something of an approximation of the experience in Sydney on Wednesday, albeit a little less animated than the real thing.
Days ahead of the monarch’s coronation in Westminster Abbey, Madame Tussauds has unveiled the waxwork of the new king outside Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building.
The new figure was accompanied by its wax family members William, Kate, and Harry. Meghan was notably absent.
There was a reasonable attempt at royal pomp. As bagpipes blared and uniformed guards stomped into formation, a “town crier” sounded his bell: “Here ye, here ye, good people from near and far, loyal subjects of the crown.”
“Pray silence for the proclamation of our new sovereign, in the company of her majesty Queen Victoria.”
To the reed-pipe tune, red curtains were drawn back to reveal the figure.
They were hiding … the king !?! pic.twitter.com/a9CZtUfDWJ
— Rafqa Touma (@At_Raf_) May 2, 2023
“Today we are here launching the king as the new head of the royal family and monarchy,” says Mikayla McGlone, operations manager at Madame Tussauds Sydney.
Marie Tussaud – the 18th-century French artist behind the now-global celebrity wax-figure attraction – worked with the royal family sculpting their figures. When the royals were sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution, “this tie with them almost cost her her head,” McGlone says.
“She was, however, recognised for the importance of her artistry and spared.”
“I wasn’t invited to the coronation, this had to be the next best thing,” says Ron Arosa, a guest at the ceremony. “The resemblance is startling. I wasn’t sure if I should curtsey when I approached the king’s wax figure.”
These eyes are staring straight into my soul pic.twitter.com/5XNNdjESD1
— Rafqa Touma (@At_Raf_) May 2, 2023
The construction of the uncanny rendering of King Charles began nine months ago, out of Madame Tussauds’ London studios.
“Each hair was individually inserted into his head, and there are thin layers on layers of paint for skin,” McGlone says.
The figure stands in a signature-Charles pose – hands clasped behind his back, face turned to a crowd. He wears a single-breasted grey Prince of Wales check suit over a lilac shirt, oxblood leather shoes, and off-white flower lapel cufflinks – all custom-made by the real king’s tailors and shirt-makers.
“So yeah, it’s just remarkable,” McGlone says. “The likeness of him.”
