The “blood of Afghan refugees” was projected onto London’s St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday (March 29), in a protest against Prince Harry’s admission that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his military service in Afghanistan.
The stunt, organized by Russian artist Andrei Molodkin, saw a recording of a sculpture of the Royal Coat of Arms being filled with blood, projected onto the side of the cathedral.
In his autobiography “Spare”, published in January, Harry recounted his two tours in Afghanistan, first as a forward air controller in 2007/08 and then as a co-pilot gunner in Apache attack helicopters in 2012.
“I didn’t think of those 25 as people … They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bad people eliminated before they could kill Good people,” he wrote of the killings.
Comparing Harry to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Molodkin said he believed Harry would not have written about the killings if he did not feel pride in doing it.
“Prince Harry is a bloody criminal,” Molodkin told Reuters, adding: “When I read Prince Harry’s comments, I feel really very angry.”
Molodkin, who previously served in the Soviet Army, said it was symbolic to light up the cathedral where Harry’s parents, King Charles and the late Princess Diana, had married in 1981.
Two Afghan refugees living in Calais and six Afghans living in the UK donated their blood, with 1.75 liters used in the final project.
The date of the stunt was chosen to coincide with Harry’s visit to the UK for a court appearance in a hearing against the publisher of The Daily Mail for breaches of privacy.
Molodkin said his team had tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with Harry to show him the artwork, and that he had also designed a video game called ‘Royal Blood’ based on Harry’s account of his actions in Afghanistan.
