‘Nothing Is Off the Table’ for Forthcoming Statue Honoring the Reign of Queen Elizabeth — Including Digital Technology

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Elizabeth II attends an event in celebration of The Big Lunch initiative at The Eden Project during the G7 Summit on June 11, 2021 in St Austell, Cornwall, England.Photo: Oli Scarff/WPA Pool/Getty

When it comes to the forthcoming memorial honoring the life and legacy of the lateQueen Elizabeth, “Nothing is off the table,” according to the committee behind the project.

The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Committee has a budget of up to $57 million for a permanent monument,The Timesreported, adding that its design “could include digital technology.” The monument will be located in St. James’s Park.

Queen Elizabeth II attends The Ceremony of the Keys at The Palace Of Holyroodhouse on June 28, 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland.Samir Hussein - Pool/WireImage

“We do not want to be prescriptive about this,” said Baroness Amos, the former leader of the House of Lords who is on the memorial committee. “There are a set of guidelines and principles that we have set out. And we are then looking to those artists, those designers, to come up with the best ideas.”

“We want a memorial that is beautiful, that speaks to that legacy, but is also fit for the future,” Amos added.

Queen Elizabeth served a history-making 70 years, taking the throne and serving up until the day she died — Sept. 8, 2022, when she died at 96 years old on her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II watches from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade the Trooping the Colour parade on June 2, 2022 in London, England.Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images

“Nothing is off the table,” said Alex Holmes, a member of the committee and deputy chief executive of The Diana Award, the only award named in honor ofPrincess Diana.

The memorial committee will discuss the plans with not just the government but alsoKing Charlesand other senior members of the royal family.

“I think it’s unlikely to end up being a sort of metal spike,” said Anna Keay, a historian and member of the committee. “But equally, I think the King’s got much broader taste in terms of design than he’s often given credit for.”

Euan Cherry/Getty

The monument is set to be unveiled on April 21, 2026 — what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.

“We’re really thinking about what’s going to best do justice to the subject matter, to the age, to the contribution that she made,” Keay said, adding the committee wants to “come up with something that’s really going to live up to the stature of the person that we’re celebrating.”

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source: people.com