King Charles III has issued a one-word verdict on the final designs for the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II. Plans were revealed for the memorial, which will feature a statue of the late monarch during her early reign, on what would have been her 100th birthday on Tuesday (April 21).
The King joined Queen Camilla to view a scale model of the St James’s Park site at the British Museum. The memorial will feature a standing statue of the late Queen overlooking The Mall in central London. The bronze sculpture, by Martin Jennings, will take inspiration from the Pietro Annigon portrait of the Queen when she was 28. The three-metre-tall statue, which will depict the Queen in her Garter robes, will show her face turned towards Buckingham Palace.
The King summed up the designs as “fantastic”. He added: “It’s a wonderful idea for the bridge to be based on the Russian Fringe tiara, the one my Mama wore at her wedding.”
As well as the statue of Queen Elizabeth, the permanent memorial will feature a cast-glass bridge inspired by Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, a bust of Queen Elizabeth in her later years, the Commonwealth Wind Sculpture and gardens dedicated to the Commonwealth and UK.
Architect Lord Foster spoke to the King and Queen through the model, explaining how Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara, which was worn by Queen Elizabeth on her wedding day, has inspired a new lake crossing. He said, “We can lift it and drop it in overnight so we don’t even have to close the park,” to which Camilla replied, “Extraordinary.”
It was the first time the King had seen final plans for the memorial. Lord Foster described working on the project as “humbling” and a “tremendous privilege”.
He said: “The memorial is about her values, about her legacy, and it’s also in many ways about her love of history and tradition. “The King has been beyond supportive. He’s contributed to the project in the many discussions and exchanges.
“So I think it’s been a very creative process, and it continues to be so in a way, many different voices have been heard along the way and have contributed to the evolution of the design, but it is unmistakably the same original competition design.”
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