Activists briefly hung a large photograph of former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor inside the Louvre Museum this week, with the stunt coming amid renewed scrutiny of the former prince following his arrest last week and the viral spread of an unflattering image taken after his release.
Andrew was detained last Thursday in Britain on suspicion of treason, according to reports, and released about 11 hours later to his home. As he left, photographers captured him lying in the back seat of a vehicle, appearing to shield himself from view.
The image quickly spread online, where it was widely described as unflattering. It fueled fresh discussion of Andrew’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and became the subject of a wave of sharply critical memes.
On Monday, activists from the British political campaign group Everyone Hates Elon entered the Louvre in Paris and hung a large print of the photograph on a museum wall. Beneath it, they placed a caption reading, “He’s sweating now,” along with the year 2026.
The group, which says it opposes billionaires including Elon Musk and their political allies, is known for provocative stunts. In previous actions, activists displayed images of Manchester United players alongside the slogan, “Immigration has done more than billionaire tax dodgers ever have,” in response to comments by club shareholder Jim Ratcliffe, who said Britain had been “colonized by immigrants.”
The Louvre did not immediately comment on how the image was brought into the museum or how long it remained on display.
Online, the photograph continued to circulate widely. One altered video showed King Charles III unveiling a grand official portrait, only for Andrew’s face from the car ride to appear instead. The original footage was filmed in May 2024, when Charles received his first official portrait as king.
Social media users, often using artificial intelligence tools to manipulate images and video, amplified the moment, generating a stream of memes that kept the photograph at the center of online discussion.