A permanent national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II will be built in a Royal Park after receiving planning approval from Westminster City Council.
The late Queen, who passed away in 2022, will be commemorated with a statue at Marlborough Gate, the entrance to the park opposite Buckingham Palace.
A national memorial honouring Queen Elizabeth II is set to be built
A companion statue of Prince Philip, who died in 2021, will stand alongside her. Both sculptures have been designed by renowned British artist Martin Jennings.
To accommodate the memorial, the Grade II listed Marlborough Gate structure will be dismantled and reassembled “in modified form” slightly further south.
The plans, submitted by the Cabinet Office, were unanimously approved by the council’s planning sub-committee earlier this week.
Architects Foster & Partners, the firm behind London’s Millennium Bridge, will redesign the park’s Blue Bridge into a wider, tiara-shaped crossing.
The memorial aims to celebrate the life and service of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch
The project also includes a Commonwealth-inspired bronze wind sculpture by artist Yinka Shonibare, featuring floral decorations and plants representing all 56 member nations.
Other elements of the memorial include:
- A memorial path connecting the UK and Commonwealth Gardens, designed by landscape architect Michel Desvigne.
- A bust of Queen Elizabeth II installed at the Birdcage Walk entrance.
- A children’s discovery trail, featuring storytelling elements to engage younger visitors.
- The relocation of The Boy drinking fountain, another Grade II listed feature to the park’s western end near the playground.
While the proposal received broad government and council support, some residents expressed concerns about the scale of the development.
Cathy Jones, representing the Queen Anne’s Gate Residents’ Association, said the project would “fundamentally change” the park’s character and risk “splitting the park into zones.”
A Westminster City Council report acknowledged some harm to the historic landscape, citing the loss of trees and alterations to listed structures.
However, it concluded that the “public benefits of the scheme fully outweigh” those impacts.
The memorial aims to celebrate the life and service of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, a permanent tribute set within one of London’s most iconic royal parks.
