Wilde’s tomb now lipstick-free

OSCAR Wilde’s tomb in Paris has been completely restored and the lower section placed behind a glass barrier.

The distinctive monument, in Père-Lachaise was known for formerly being covered in lipstick kisses.

A ceremony was held to unveil the restored tomb, on November 30, the anniversary of the playwright’s death, aged 46, in 1900.

Wilde's only grandson Merlin Holland and British actor Rupert Everett joined French and Irish officials.

Mr Holland, whose grandmother changed the family name because of the scandal over Wilde’s imprisonment for homosexuality, thanked the Irish government for paying for the work.

“If my grandfather had been alive today he would have loved the attention,” he said.

Mr Everett, who described Wilde as his “patron saint”, said: “I find him very inspiring and touching, not just for his genius, also for his stupidity, in a way. He was a human being, and made mistakes like everyone else.”