Queen Elizabeth II smiles radiantly during a picture-taking session in the salon at Sandringham House in 1970. Her pet dog looks up at her. These photos were taken in connection with the royal family's planned tour of Australia and New Zealand. Photo / Getty
Queen Elizabeth II smiles radiantly during a picture-taking session in the salon at Sandringham House in 1970. Her pet dog looks up at her. These photos were taken in connection with the royal family's planned tour of Australia and New Zealand. Photo / Getty
Made using 800 kilograms of clay and standing seven feet tall, the sculpture captures the late Queen in her youthful splendour, wearing regal state robes with a corgi at her heels.
For British sculptor Hywel Bran Pratley, the commission marks one of his first public sculptures in Britain and is understood to be the first dedicated memorial to the late monarch.
“This, as I understand it, is the first commissioned as a memorial to the Queen. There were others which were being worked on before her death, some finished and completed, some finished and still not yet unveiled,” he said.
There are currently seven statues of Her Majesty in the country, including one erected in Windsor Great Park in 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee and another recently unveiled by the King at the entrance to York Minster, originally commissioned to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
“I wanted something that reflected Her Majesty as a Queen rather than as a person for posterity,” she said, adding: “But we wanted to do something that reflected her warmth and humanity, too.”
Pratley told the Telegraph: “Dr Furness had a vision for a larger-than-life-sized statue.”
He later unveiled a small maquette at Oakham Castle in March, which helped secure the £125,000 in public funding needed for the entire process.
The statue most closely reflects the young Queen of the 1950s and ‘60s, and photographs of the monarch in this era adorn Pratley’s studio.
“I’ve got my inspiration wall, and they’re all pictures of the beautiful young Queen Elizabeth,” he said. “Selecting this view of a cheekbone and that view of an eyebrow has been great for me, I’ve enjoyed that very much.”
The 51-year-old, who is a former English teacher turned professional artist, said he loves to watch people’s jaws drop as they walk past his studio in Hammersmith and see the towering figure of the sculpture through the window.
‘She represented something so hopeful’
He said that capturing her youthful years as monarch -she ascended to the throne aged just 25 - lends itself more to commemorating somebody in statue form.
“A very important phase in her life was when her children were young and she was such a powerful force in the Commonwealth; so vibrant and beautiful and going around the world,” he said.
“Her reign was a period of British history, during which she represented something so hopeful - and that’s what people would like to be looking at as they gaze upon their statue.”
Furness explained she wanted the statue to mark the sovereign in “the prime of her life”, saying it “reflects the fact that she’s got a long future, a long life”.
“She was so indomitable right until the end,” Pratley added. “I hope what I’m achieving with the design is a sense of purpose and stability.”
The sculptor, who specialises in portrait and figure commissions, also added corgis to commemorate the late Queen’s life-long bond with her dogs.
For now, there is only one corgi on display by her feet, but the final statue will have three - one of which will be jumping up and the other facing forward.
The base of the plinth will also include a raised stone bench for passersby to sit on.
‘The dogs and us will be able to shelter under Her Majesty’
Pratley said: “I very quickly thought that I would like to have a corgi nestling in her robes by her feet, because what a great symbol it is, artistically, of her being mother of a nation… The dogs and us able to shelter under Her Majesty.”
“She’s always had corgis around, so I think to miss the opportunity to include them in the composition was a waste.”
The creation of the sculpture in clay is just over a week away from completion, but there are many more processes to come before the memorial can be erected in Rutland, including creating a silicone mould and pouring the molten bronze.
The inscription on the statue’s pedestal will read: “Erected as a tribute to Her late Majesty through public subscription by people in Rutland for future generations.”
While he does not count himself as an avid royalist, the sculptor said that he “very much values their presence” and thinks the country is culturally richer because of the monarchy.
Once completed, the statue will stand outside the library in Oakham, a town in the smallest county in England, Rutland.
Buckingham Palace is aware of the statue and the King has been asked to personally unveil it once completed.
“We haven’t heard the fateful word ‘no’ yet,” said Pratley, adding: “It’s still very much hoped that he will.”
