Graffiti artist welcomes Harry to LA with 'keep calm' portrait, says it's awesome to have him in city
A graffiti artist has shown some compassion and warmth towards new LA residents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who recently moved there.
The artist, Keith Biele, drew a picture of the Duke of Sussex in a blue hoodie along with the words "Keep calm and wash hands." He had also drawn a blue French bulldog and an orange pitbull on either side of Prince Harry, with a message of peace.
"Awesome to have such a cool couple living in LA now - they seem to be adjusting nicely - Harry walking pups wearing his old Megxit hoodie that still comes in handy," he captioned the image.
In an interview with People, the graffiti artist, 51, explained, "I didn’t like the way the President welcomed them to the country by saying, 'Hey, we’re not going to pay for your security'," referring to POTUS stating that Harry and Meghan would have to foot their security bill on their own.
"So I wanted to try to find a way to use this image and welcome them at the same time to make a comment and a little public service announcement to everybody. I wanted to use their saying and put 'Wash Your Hands' in there to update it with what’s going on with the COVID-19," the artist revealed.
"That’s my way of welcoming them — the L.A. hoodie for Harry," he added. Inspired by the motivational poster the UK government had used to recruit soldiers in 1939 for WWII, Biele decided to put his own twist on the phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On".
The portrait is located at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Beachwood Drive in the Los Feliz neighborhood. It is one among many graffiti murals that define the culture of LA. While speaking of the couple's move to LA, Biele shared, "I think that we’re pretty stoked to have them here."
"I mean, when you have a couple like that living amongst you, in my opinion, it kind of raises the bar. It raises the level of what you want to aspire to," he added. He then spoke about Prince Harry and said, "I would love to see more stuff of him done because I think he’s an inspiration to kids that are in the new generation."
"To me, Harry is kind of a hero. Instead of being the spare, mind you, he’s doing his own thing. I think that’s great." We had previously reported that POTUS Donald Trump announced that the USA would not be taking on the couple's $24 million security bill after they stepped down as senior members of the royal family.
Trump had taken to social media to share, "I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!"
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have both been very vocal about their dislike for Trump in the past. Meghan had snubbed the US president at a Buckingham Palace last year while Harry had recently claimed that Trump has "blood on his hands" for his views on climate change while on a call with Russian pranksters.