National memorial to Queen Elizabeth II must 'reflect on an extraordinary life'

Leading artists, architects and engineers are being asked to put forward their ideas for the national memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

With a provisional budget of up to £46m - excluding VAT - the tribute will be placed in St James's Park, close to Buckingham Palace, and provide a permanent memorial to the country's longest-reigning monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022

Public funds will pay for the memorial and from the various submissions, the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee will select a winner, judging all submissions against a value-for-money criteria.

The budget is thought to be a guide figure and not a final one which will depend on the winning design.

The late Queen's former private secretary Lord Janvrin, chairman of the committee, said: "The memorial must be - simply - a beautiful place, somewhere to visit with family and friends, to enjoy and to reflect on an extraordinary life.

"We want to attract the finest teams of architects, artists, landscape architects, engineers and other specialists to work with us to create an outstanding design for the memorial site.

"We are looking for teams who thoroughly understand and connect with our ambitions for the project."

The provisional cost includes the replacement of the Blue Bridge - the low-arched, functional, concrete pedestrian bridge with sky blue railings that spans the park's lake and offers views across to Buckingham Palace to the west and Horse Guards Parade, Big Ben and the London Eye towards the east.

The eventual memorial site is set to be located near The Mall at Marlborough Gate.

It will include the land surrounding the pathway down to the lake, the Blue Bridge crossing, and the land on the other side and across to Birdcage Walk.

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The project will aim to create "an emotionally powerful place" with celebratory spaces to encourage reflection.

One artist or sculptor will be tasked with depicting the late Queen's likeness as well.

The first deadline for the two-stage competition is 2pm on 20 January 2025 and then there will be a ten-week design stage for five shortlisted competitors with the winner announced in the summer.

(c) Sky News 2024: National memorial to Queen Elizabeth II must 'reflect on an extraordinary life'