Queen’s unsurprising reaction to graffiti which ruins iconic Windsor Castle view
The Queen was said to be "very unamused" after a graffiti artist spray painted this gigantic monstrosity on a royal railway viaduct ruining a once iconic view of Windsor Castle.
The 10 feet high by 60 feet long piece of graffiti has been branded “sheer vandalism”.
It was painted overnight and blots the view for royal visitors to the monarch's favourite home.
The matter was first brought to royal attention by guests of Her Majesty who spotted it from Royal Windsor Way – a dual carriageway that brings them into the historic town.
A royal source said: "The Queen was not happy at all to hear that what for many of her guests is their first view of Windsor Castle has been turned into a very ugly eyesore.
“Her aides have been asked to see what can be done to have this gratuitous vandalism cleaned up and have the views across to Windsor Castle restored to their former beauty”.
The vandal responsible is not known.
The word HELCH has been scrawled on dozens of other sites in and around London including many bridges on the M4, M1 and M25.
HELCH has also been emblazoned on London railway and tube station bridges and lots of disused buildings around the capital.
It is not known what it means but the Urban Dictionary suggests it is a shortening of “hiccup” and “belch” or a shortening of “hell yes” or it could be the “tag” of the actual artist.
West Windsor Residents Association chairman Richard Endacott said: "The Royal Windsor Way is the gateway into our town and is the first view that you get of Windsor Castle.
“For this piece of vandalism to ruin this view is just devastating and I am sure the Queen will not be impressed and it is essential that action is taken to restore a one fantastic view.
“However much it costs we have 1.4m tourists visiting Windsor Castle each this year and this should not be their first sighting of it and the sort of memory they take away of it.
“When the person who did it caught he should have to pay for the cost of cleaning it up. It is illegal to graffiti like this and it is a criminal offence and it blights our town” he said.
Local Susan Roberts said: "It is quite incredible that someone can paint something as big as this with such precision which must have taken several nights and nobody notices?"
The three mile single track railway between Windsor and Slough was opened in 1849 and the original wooden trestles were replaced by this 2035 yard long brick viaduct in 1865.
The line was used by Queen Victoria’s royal steam train and the famous playing fields of Eton College where Prince Harry and William went to school lay on the other side of it.
The station was totally rebuilt for her Diamond Jubilee is 1897 and the royal waiting room including her “throne” room complete with toilet and wash basin are still there today.
The viaduct takes the railway over the River Thames across the world’s only wrought iron bridge still in regular use which was designed by Isambard Brunel and is Grade 2 listed.
The viaduct has been the target of graffiti in the past but Network Rail who are responsible for the upkeep have said they will only remove it if it is actually obscene or offensive.
A spokesman said: "All graffiti removal comes at the taxpayers’ expense and we only remove it when it is deemed offensive or else the people who do it go back and just do it again."
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