Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction! Here are 7 interesting facts about London’s famous waxwork museum…
1. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall
-The ‘green’-supporting Prince Of Wales was Madame Tussauds’ first ever ‘carbon neutral’ figure, recycled from a 1989 likeness of His Royal Highness in 2007. The production process, solely by hand and daylight, saw a new head created ‘naturally’ from clay and beeswax containing organic pigments; all design materials recycled; and sculptors traveling to meetings by bicycle. Madame Tussauds planted three trees to erase the remaining carbon footprint.
2. David Beckham
-The attraction caused controversy during football’s 2002 World Cup when it paid homage to David Beckham by placing his figure on the empty ‘fourth plinth’ in London’s Trafalgar Square. Local authorities ordered for its immediate removal despite a public outcry to keep ‘Becks’ up and flying the flag.
3. Jonny Wilkinson
-Madame Tussauds returned to Trafalgar Square’s spare plinth on the eve of the England’s big Rugby World Cup Final in October 2007, this time with approval! The figure of hotshot kicker Jonny Wilkinson was unveiled at 6am and by midday had generated a two-mile traffic tailback on the surrounding roads.
4. Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan
-The figure of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan was the first ever to receive a proposal of marriage. A passionate female fan traveled down from Bradford shortly after ‘King Khan’s’ launch in April 2007 just to present his double with a diamond engagement ring. She’s still waiting for an answer….
5. Lost property at Madame Tussauds
-Items left behind by visitors to the attraction have, in the past five years, included one false leg and 123 pairs of false teeth!
6. Hair-raising matters
-The real human hair used on figures – including beards, moustaches and eyebrows – needs regular shampooing and styling. In 1996 shocked staff found that Hitler’s hair seemed to be growing, and to an extent that it needed trimming!
7. John George Haigh
-John George Haigh, the ‘acid bath murderer’, is believed to have visited the Chamber Of Horrors just days before his arrest for the murder of six young women. With grisly foresight he bequeathed clothes to Madame Tussauds from his death cell at Wandsworth Prison.
Read about the new wax work figures of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!
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