Martin Jennings has previously impressed with sculptures of King Charles, the Queen Mother, George Orwell and Mary Seacole(Image: Ben Whitley/PA Wire)
A renowned sculptor tasked with creating a statue of Queen Elizabeth II for her national memorial in one of London’s Royal Parks said he wants to craft the “grace and dignity” of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Martin Jennings, who has previously portrayed King Charles III and the Queen Mother, said he is “absolutely thrilled” to be involved in the project.
The 68-year-old’s artwork will sit within the new Queen Elizabeth II Place in St James’s Park, close to Buckingham Palace. The winning design will also feature a Prince Philip Gate and statue, a “family of gardens” and a glass bridge inspired by the shape of the late Queen’s wedding tiara.
Mr Jennings told the PA news agency that he does not have a “defined idea” of how the statue will look, and first wants the Royal Family’s sign-off. He said: “We have historical precedence. There’s the Victoria Memorial next to Buckingham Palace at that end of The Mall, and the memorial further down the Mall towards Admiralty Arch of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
A large statue of the late Queen on horseback is the standout feature of the memorial park(Image: Foster & Partners)
“And these offer some kind of precedent, but I would like to make something that has clearly been made now, I don’t want to make something that could be mistaken as having been put up 150 years ago or even 50 years ago.
“I’m sure this will be a wonderful new piece of work that also pays tribute to the longevity of Queen. She became Queen in the early 50s, that’s a long time ago, so this needs to be a compelling artwork of today, but suited to the whole period of her reign.”
Mr Jennings also created a bust of the Queen Mother in St Paul’s Cathedral and the first crowned coinage portrait of the King. He has also sculpted statues of outside BBC Broadcasting House, Philip Larkin in Hull, Mary Seacole in London’s St Thomas’ Hospital and the Women Of Steel in Sheffield.
A concept image of the glass bridge, illuminated at night time(Image: Foster & Partners)
He added: “There is a poignant link between making representations of three members of the Royal Family from three different generations. It almost feels like these projects are joined to each other, and let’s not forget, the Queen Mother was born in 1900 so this stretches historically across more than a century.”
He went on: “We have yet to find out how the project will work and I’m sure the King and the royal family will be very interested in how Queen Elizabeth is represented. I would want to have their approval.”
The late Queen’s statue will sit close to Marlborough Gate in St James’s Park(Image: Emily Whitfield-Wicks/PA Wire)
Mr Jennings said the statue needs to have “all the grandeur and dignity appropriate” for a ceremonial route. He added: “In terms of the Queen herself, I think (the statue) would probably benefit from a certain amount of stillness.
“She was known for her grace, her decency and her restraint. And those are things I’d like to bear in mind when I’m making it.
“I make a sculpture as if only one person is going to see it, it may be a million people, but that’s a million individuals. And so it’s a direct communication with each of those single people.”
The final design for the memorial is expected to be revealed in 2026, which would have been the late Queen’s 100th birthday year. As of now, the project has a budget of between £23 million and £46 million.
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