Queen Elizabeth’s national memorial will also pay tribute to her husband Prince Philip.
Queen Elizabeth’s memorial will include a tribute to her late husband Prince Philip
Leading architect Lord Norman Foster’s design team has been announced as the winner in the competition for a memorial in tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – who passed away at the age of 96 in 2022 – which will be situated in St James’s Park in London.
The winning design features a translucent bridge inspired by the late Queen’s wedding tiara and includes a separate statue of the Queen and Prince Philip, gardens and a Prince Philip Gate – to go with the main monument of the late sovereign.
The design was selected from a shortlist of five ideas and Lord Robert Janvrin, chair of the memorial committee and the late Queen’s former private secretary, says it is a balance of “traditional elements and modern elements, informal and formal”.
Lord Janvrin hopes that the memorial helps the public to “reflect on an extraordinary life, someone who for a very long reign was part of the way that this nation looked at itself, the way that we changed and evolved”.
He believes that Queen Elizabeth would have been pleased that the memorial is visible from Buckingham Palace.
Lord Janvrin told the BBC: “I think the location is something which would have appealed to her. You can see the bridge from the room where she often sat for paintings.”
Meanwhile, Lord Foster said that Prince Philip’s inclusion highlighted the “inseparable quality” of the royal couple – who were married for 73 years until the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing aged 99 in 2021.
He explained: “We showed them together and, in a way, there was this inseparable quality which we sought to convey.”
The architect described it as an “honour and a privilege” for his team to work on a project that will “stretch the boundaries of art and technology”.
Lord Foster says the memorial will attempt to convey the “values represented” by the late Queen to the “many people who are passing through the park”.
He added that the various facets of the memorial will suggest the “richness, the complexity and the many different dimensions” of her 70-year reign.
The final look of the statue will depend on the sculptor, who is yet to be appointed, and there is currently no date set for the memorial to be completed.
