Lord Foster has worn a virtual reality headset to preview a statue of Elizabeth II.
The world-renowned architect and his firm carried out a “hybrid mock-up” of the national memorial to celebrate the late monarch’s reign and legacy.
Early risers in London were treated to a sneak preview of the work as a cutout model was hoisted on a cherry picker at the entrance to the St James’s Park.
The bronze statue immortalising Elizabeth II and her historic reign will eventually depict her in her twenties standing on a plinth overlooking The Mall.
The process took place so Lord Foster and his team could plan the scale of the design – Jeremy Selwyn
Nearby, a smaller statue of her lifelong consort, Prince Philip, carved in his naval uniform, will stand “a few paces behind” and “looking up” at his wife of more than 70 years.
On Tuesday, Lord Foster looked on in the early morning so his firm Foster + Partners and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee could plan the scale of the design.
It is understood the process allowed them to determine the appropriate scale of the two statues and their plinths and how they sit within the historically sensitive Marlborough Gate, on The Mall.
Lord Foster, who was appointed to the Order of Merit by Elizabeth II, said: “Models and mock-ups have always been an integral part of the design process at Foster + Partners, enabling us to visualise how the statues will complement their historic surroundings.
“Embracing the latest technology, the exercise has been vital in helping us develop and refine the proposals for the memorial.”
Martin Jennings, who is sculpting the work, also looked on with other members of the design team, as members of the public took photos of the early reveal.
An early plan for the statue had seen Elizabeth II sitting on horseback, however this had switched to show her wearing her robes of the Order of the Garter.
Elizabeth II in a painting by Pietro Annigoni, commissioned in 1955, on which the statue is modelled – Annigoni/Camera Press
The planning committee changed the proposal after a public consultation decided this would make her appear more “accessible”.
Lord Foster’s memorial will be made up of a family of gardens through the park, complete with meandering paths and a new translucent glass bridge.
Mr Jennings’s sculpture of the Queen will take inspiration from the celebrated 1955 portrait of Elizabeth II by Pietro Annigoni, the Italian artist.
The work captured the young monarch just a few years into her reign, draped in her weighty Garter robes and gazing into the distance.
The statue will stand 7.3m high – with the Queen three metres tall, perched on a 4.3m plinth – in a new civic space called Queen Elizabeth II Place at Marlborough Gate on the edge of the park.
St James’s Park will be transformed in tribute to the nation’s longest-reigning monarch – Jeremy Selwyn
The smaller companion statue – 3.8m in height, with a 2.3m figure and a 1.5m plinth – of her husband will be located 20m behind in the park. Prince Philip will be represented at a similar age, wearing his Admiral of the Fleet uniform.
Lord Janvrin, Elizabeth II’s former private secretary and chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, said: “We thought it was very important that the statue of the Queen, our head of state, was on the ceremonial route in her own right.
“She will be depicted standing on her own. But Prince Philip was such an important part – they worked as a team – of the realm that we’ve decided that he should be a few paces behind the Queen, a position he was accustomed to.”
He added: “Prince Philip will be looking up because she is on a slightly higher pedestal.”
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