Leon Neal / AFP - Getty Images

Painter Lisa Burton poses for pictures with a new waxwork figure of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Madame Tussauds in London on May 14, 2012. The figure is dressed in a recreation of the white and silver lace dress covered in 53,000 Swarovski elements with blue silk sash adorned with The Queen's Garter Badge, topped off by a replica of the diamond and pearl George IV State Diadem.

See the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in wax on PhotoBlog

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Slideshow: Life of a queen

Chris Radburn / AFP - Getty Images

As she marks her Diamond Jubilee, view images from the extraordinary life and long reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Launch slideshow

Peter Dejong / AP

Child models eat scones as they pose with waxworks of Britain's royal couple William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 4, 2012.

Waxwork likenesses of Prince William and Kate Middleton were due to be unveiled on Wednesday in London, Amsterdam and New York City. Take a look at some more celebrities immortalized in wax in this slideshow.

Alaa Al-Marjani / AP

Two men, standing and second from right, are seen with wax figures depicting Shiite clerics at the wax museum in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, in a picture taken on Feb. 18, 2012 and made available today.

Alaa Al-Marjani / AP

Even before they go on display, the wax figures have become embroiled in controversy.

The Associated Press reports from Najaf, Iraq — An exhibit of wax statues depicting some of Shiite Muslims' most beloved clerics, aimed at paying tribute to this Iraqi holy city's contributions to culture, has been dipped in controversy as some Sunnis decry the figures as heretical.

Even before the exhibit opens, some Sunni Muslims - rarely shy about highlighting their religious differences with Shiites - are denouncing them as a violation of Islamic law. Even some Shiite clerics are a bit leery.

Some Muslim clerics of both sects interpret Islamic law as forbidding most depictions of people and even animals in art or other likenesses. They believe such likenesses could be perceived as false idols and, therefore, taboo. Read the full story.

Alaa Al-Marjani / AP

The exhibit is the brainchild of Sheik Ali Mirza, a Shiite cleric. He says the figures are so lifelike visitors sometimes "raise their hands to salute the statues as if they were alive."

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