Queen Elizabeth’s Portrait In Westminster Abbey Defaced, Suspect Arrested

Queen Elizabeth’s portrait, marking her 60 years on the throne, was defaced with turquoise spray-paint by a father desperately seeking to reach out to Her Majesty.

Tim Haries, 41, who claims to have been wrongly separated from his daughters, and a member of the dads’ rights group Fathers 4 Justice, wrote the word “help” across the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee portrait in Westminster Abbey in an effort to appeal to the queen for help.

The portrait, painted by Australian artist Ralph Heimans, depicts the queen in state dress, including the velvet robe she wore during her coronation in 1953. According to police, Haries was arrested on suspicion of more than $7,800 worth of criminal damage and is due in court on Friday.

Fathers 4 Justice denied Haries acted on behalf of the group, but paints Haries as a heroic example of justice. “We are campaigning as the suffragettes did for equality,” Fathers 4 Justice head Nadine O’Connor told ABC News. “It’s a beautiful painting, but lets get things in perspective here. Yes, he defaced the painting. But that can be repaired. The family courts in this country are destroying lives. If we have a country in uproar over a defaced picture, that says a lot about the country where 3.8 million children don’t have fathers. If we are more upset about the portrait than about the state of fathers in this country, this is a society I don’t want my children growing up in.”

The painting went on display last month, but has been taken down until further notice. “Until work can be done to remedy the damage it will—very regrettably—not be possible to have the painting on public view,” a Westminster Abbey spokesman said in a statement. The Abbey has held 38 coronations dating back to 1066.