The final five shortlisted designs from which one will be selected as Queen Elizabeth II’s national memorial (Museums + Heritage)
by Mick the Ram
A final shortlist of five proposed designs for the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II has been revealed by the UK government.
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died in September 2022 and for some time there have been plans to create a lasting monument or structure, to become a national landmark for the much-loved sovereign.
Concepts include a “tranquil family” of romantic royal gardens; a cast of a Windsor oak tree; a stone bridge with cascading water; a giant canopy of stone lily pads; and a statue of the late Queen next to Prince Philip.
Three of the five proposed designs feature Her Majesty riding a horse, reflecting her lifelong enthusiasm for the equine family.
Illustrations of the designs have been put online by the Cabinet Office and the public are being invited to give their feedback on whether they prefer a more traditional representation of the late Queen, or something more experimental and innovative.
The new memorial will be placed not too far from statues of her parents: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; as well as that of Queen Victoria which stands outside Buckingham Palace.
The construction budget will be between £23m and £46m, depending on the selected design and the winner will be chosen later this year, with unveiling aimed at 2026, which would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday year.
Massive construction project
The memorial will be built in St James’s Park in central London. The location for whatever is selected will be a section of the park close to the Mall and across to a bridge over a lake.
The entries include plans to landscape and redesign the chosen area and the construction process is expected to mean replacing the bridge that is currently in place.
Selection of features
There are other features proposed by the competing teams of artists and architects, such as incorporating recordings of the late Queen’s voice into their memorial, and large sculptures of lilies around a figure of the late Queen.
One of the proposed designs uses an oak tree to represent Queen Elizabeth’s strength and resilience. Another suggests building symbolic pathways and a pair of bridges over the lake in the park.
It is envisaged to become a joyful celebration of Elizabeth II, as well as somewhere to visit as a place of reflection. The memorial project’s guidelines suggested that it would need to tell the story of her incredible reign and be beautiful, inclusive and sustainable.
Huge challenge
The site traverses London’s Grade 1 listed St James’s Park from Marlborough Gate on The Mall, covering land surrounding the pathway to, and including, the Blue Bridge and across to Birdcage Walk.
The challenge and opportunity for competing design teams is enormous and means that it would be difficult to find anywhere and anything more significant; it will, once completed, create a new national landmark, therefore the pressure to get it right could not be greater.
Public opinion counts
Public funds will pay for the memorial so consequently, they are being encouraged to contribute ideas about the memorial and to give feedback on the shortlisted designs.
“We want public engagement, we want the public to comment on these proposals, because we want them to feel part of it,” said Baroness Amos, a former leader of the House of Lords and a member of the committee which will select the design to be built.
“So much of what the late Queen was about was meeting people and engaging with them, so it should be a fitting tribute. This is about an extraordinary woman and an extraordinary reign, about her commitment to public service, her duty, her commitment to the community, to the nation and the Commonwealth,” she said.
The competing five
The final design will be submitted to King Charles III and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer for approval.
The five shortlisted designs are:
Royal Gardens – a “tranquil family” of royal gardens inspired by John Nash’s original landscape of the park, linked by a natural stone tessellated path by Lord Foster of Foster + Partners with artist Yinka Shonibare, ecologist Professor Nigel Dunnett and landscape architect Michel Desvigne Paysagiste.
Memorial Walk – a memorial walk inspired by the idea of “togetherness” with 70 lily pad stepping stones by Heatherwick Studio with sculptor and ceramicist Halima Cassell, MRG Studio, Webb Yates and Arup. At the centre of the bridge is a limestone sculpture of the late Queen, protected by a giant canopy of eight sculptural lilies.
Stone Bridge – an innovative stone bridge featuring a gentle cascade of water onto the lake, to represent the late Queen as the bedrock of the nation, designed by J&L Gibbons with production designer Michael Levine, and William Matthews Associates. It aims to capture a “meandering flow of geology carrying people through an ephemeral choreography of blossoming and colour beneath the high tree canopy” and includes glades to invite “forest bathing in the heart of the city”.
Windsor Oak – an exact cast of an “awe-inspiring” oak from Windsor Great Park, representing the late Queen’s strength and endurance and symbolising the monarchy is the central focus of a design by Tom Stuart-Smith with Jamie Fobert Architects and artist Adam Lowe of Factum Are. The tree would stand on a plinth in the lake, with a curved stone bridge as a viewing platform. There would also be a serpentine memorial path featuring bronze casts of significant objects from the late Queen’s life and a “sonic soundscape” of memories from those she impacted.
Interwoven Pathways – a thread of pathways and landscapes “gently woven through the natural fabric” of the park with a pair of “elegant bridges” proposed by Wilkinson-Eyre with artists Lisa Vandy and Fiona Clarke. The thread, with symbolic spaces for reflection, focuses on seven themes of the late Queen’s life – reign, faith, Commonwealth, values, nature, family, and of course… Prince Philip.
Historical opportunity
Members of the public are being encouraged to view the proposals and offer feedback by 19 May.
The project has been hailed as one of the most significant design initiatives in modern British history.
I like the Queen and horse coming out of a rock. None of the descriptions above seem to describe that but it is by far the best idea. It is The Queen as we all know and remember her.