Advertisement

The Graffiti Version of Prince Harry Wants You to Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands

Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images
Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

  • A street art portrait of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has made an appearance on a street in Los Angeles.

  • It features the duke in a blue hoodie that reads, "Keep Calm and Wash Hands."

  • Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are reportedly self-isolating in a "secluded compound" in the city after moving from Canada's Vancouver Island.


Graffiti saturates the urban cityscape of sunny Los Angeles, swarming highway walls, apartment buildings, billboards, and even occasionally the famed Hollywood sign. In a way, a street art portrait of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex—who recently transplanted from England to Canada to Los Angeles, the hometown of his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex—is a christening of sorts. A recent vandalized account of the duke, depicting him in a blue hoodie that reads, "Keep Calm and Wash Hands," is a funny way of saying, "Welcome to L.A."

The artist and the date of origin is unknown, although photos of the graffiti first surfaced this past Tuesday. In those pictures, pedestrians wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic could be seen walking nonchalantly past the portrait, which is plastered on what appears to be a phone company box. Below the graffitied royal, two painted dogs—one blue, the other orange—stand guard. Judging from the street sign in the background, the artwork appears to be on Beachwood Drive.

"Keep Calm and Wash Hands" is an updated iteration of "Keep Calm and Carry On," the British adage that first popped up to raise morale among the country's public in preparation for World War II.

Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images
Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images
Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images
Photo credit: ROBYN BECK - Getty Images

Of course, the act of graffiti isn't exclusive to any one city. Earlier this year, street artist Pegasus produced a work of street art that showed Harry as a "Rebel Without a Crown," a riff off the James Dean movie poster for Rebel Without a Cause.

You Might Also Like