Selfie Addict Accidentally Destroys 126-Year-Old Statue After Climbing Upon It To Strike A Pose

An intrepid and imaginative narcissist who climbed upon a 126-year-old statue just to take a selfie is awaiting trial for the destruction of public property after he accidentally destroyed the historical monument which has proudly stood for 126 years.

Vanity Fair reports that the 24-year-old selfie addict is now awaiting court proceedings in Lisbon, Portugal, for vandalism and, to a lesser extent, acting like a fool, after he was arrested for attempting to take a selfie with a sculpture of a 16th-century Portuguese king and shattering it into tiny pieces.

The stone figure who was destroyed by the happy-go-lucky selfie-addict was the much revered and loved King Sebastian I of Portugal.

King Sebastian I, who is known in his native land as Dom Sebastiao, was a historical leader who fought valiantly and heroically alongside the recently deposed sultan Abdallah Mohammed II against the Moroccan sultan Abd Al-Malik.

In 1578, during the Battle of Alcacer Quibir, also known as the Battle of Three Kings, King Sebastian earned legendary renown for leading by example, riding into the fray time and time again, and encouraging his troops onto victory.

However, Al-Malik’s forces proved too much for King Sebastian and his ally Mohammed II, who suffered a crushing defeat.

The 24-year-old’s body was never recovered from the field of battle, but such was his heroism and fighting spirit, he has become a mythical figure to the Portuguese, much like King Arthur has to the British.

In memory of King Sebastian, a statue was erected nearby Lisbon’s Rossio station in 1891. Also known as the “sleeping king,” Sebastian was predicted to return and aid Portugal in her darkest hour.

For 126 years, his stone likeness has inspired all who passed to reflect on a bygone age where sacrifice, valor, national pride, and nobility meant more than a social media update.

Yet last Tuesday, just before the midnight hour, an eager young man, armed with a phone and a modern dose of vanity, clambered without respect or thought upon the statue of King Sebastian to take a picture of his big shiny face next to the stone colossus.

And then disaster struck.

What had weathered the elements and survived the chaos and turmoil of 126 years was destroyed in a few minute’s work by a selfie addict. Oh, the indignity!

By lifting himself onto the statue’s pedestal, the attention-seeking selfie-addict caused the base of the 16th-century Portuguese King’s statue to shatter as the statue fell and was destroyed by wanton vanity.

Mortified by what he had done, or disgusted at missing such a great photo opportunity, the selfie addict fled the sense and was later arrested by the police.

And the moral of the story is? Stupidity knows no bounds and vanity makes you look incredibly ugly.

[Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images]