Activists from the UK-based anti‑billionaire collective Everyone Hates Elon briefly turned a gallery at Paris’s Musée du Louvre into a site of royal reckoning on Sunday, February 22, by clandestinely installing a framed photograph of ex‑Prince Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor taken shortly after his recent arrest.
The image, shot by Reuters photographer Phil Noble on February 19, shows the disgraced royal slumped in the back seat of a car as he left a police station in Norfolk, England, after being taken into custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to the latest tranche of Jeffrey Epstein documents. Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, was stripped of his royal titles last year amid intensifying scrutiny over his relationship with the late convicted sex offender.
According to footage shared on Instagram, activists entered the Louvre during public visiting hours and mounted the work in an ornate frame, complete with a wall label reading “He’s Sweating Now — 2026,” a pointed reference to Andrew’s notorious 2019 TV interview in which he claimed he could not sweat in response to allegations from Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre. In a caption accompanying the video, the group wrote, “They say ‘hang it in the Louvre.’ So we did,” framing the action as a pop‑cultural twist on the phrase often used to praise iconic images circulating online.
The unsanctioned “installation” remained on view for roughly 10 to 15 minutes before museum security staff removed it, after realising the suited figure in the frame was not part of the institution’s permanent collection but a 21st‑century royal at the centre of a widening criminal investigation. A spokesperson for the Louvre declined to comment on how the photograph was installed, what subsequently happened to it, or whether the museum intends to pursue legal action over the breach.
In statements posted online and shared with media, Everyone Hates Elon said the action was intended to highlight what they describe as a culture of impunity for “incredibly wealthy, powerful people” and to call for “justice for all Epstein survivors.” The group, known for stunts targeting billionaire influence in politics and culture, argued that Andrew’s arrest should mark a turning point in how institutions and the public remember him, insisting that “this is the portrait history should keep.”
The intervention comes days after Andrew was questioned for around 11 hours before being released without charge, as investigators probe allegations that he misused his position as the UK’s trade envoy to share confidential government information with Epstein. While the former prince maintains his innocence and has not been formally charged, the Louvre incident underscores how his legal troubles—and the broader fight for accountability in the Epstein case—are increasingly playing out in the symbolic arena of the art world as much as in the courts.
Athmaja Biju is the Editor at Abir Pothi. She is a Translator and Writer working on Visual Culture.
