Planning permission granted
15 June 2007
Westminster City Council last night granted planning permission for the Memorial to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, by Donald Insall Associates and Donald Buttress, to go forward.
The scheme involves the design and installation of a new statue of Queen Elizabeth by Philip Jackson flanked by bronze relief panels by Paul Day.
The statue will look towards Buckingham Palace, as is the case with the existing statue of George VI, and will be mounted on a plinth in front of the existing steps. The front wall will be remodelled, with two new piers to improve the architectural setting.
The middle wall will also be remodelled to provide a setting for two new bronze relief panels, on one side showing scenes from the life of the King and Queen together and on the other her life as Queen Mother.
The existing statue of George VI will be moved forward to the front of the top landing level, so that it has more prominence.
It is intended that the statues will show the King and Queen at the same age, mounted on plinths simply inscribed with their names and the years of their births and deaths. However, their separation in the composition reflects the fact that Queen Elizabeth lived for another 50 years.
In advance of the successful planning application the project was discussed with various interested groups, including the Westminster Public Art Advisory Panel, English Heritage, Royal Parks, DCMS, the Thorney Island Society and Westminster Society.
The application was made, having obtained approval from The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Prince of Wales.
Notes for Editors:
1. The site for the memorial is on the north side of The Mall in London between Marlborough Road and Admiralty Arch. The existing statue of King George VI in this location was created in 1955 and shows the king dressed in Garter Robes wearing naval uniform. This will be joined by a new statue of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother also wearing Garter Robes and the plumed hat of the order. The site lies within an area managed by the Royal Parks, which will maintain the memorial on completion.
2. The five shortlisted designers were selected from over 70 expressions of interest received in the initial phase of the project, from which short list Donald Insall Associates and Donald Buttress were selected for the commission.
3. The memorial project is being managed by the Royal Household, in association with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
4. The selection panel comprises: HRH The Prince of Wales, The Keeper of the Privy Purse, The Director of the Royal Collection, The Principal Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales, and The Director of the Property Section, Buckingham Palace.
5. A special £5 coin produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate The Queen's 80th birthday was sold to raise funds for the national memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
6. It is hoped that work will begin on site before the end of the year.
