New Monument of Queen Elizabeth Will Be Unveiled on What Would Have Been Her 100th Birthday in 2026

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Elizabeth during a visit to The Chelsea Flower Show 2022 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on May 23, 2022 in London.Photo:Paul Grover - Pool / Getty

Paul Grover - Pool / Getty

A new monument honoring the lateQueen Elizabethwill be open to the public to mark what would have been her 100th birthday in 2026.TheDaily Mirrorreported that the sculpture honoring the life and legacy of the late Queen will be unveiled in St. James’s Park in London to commemorate her centenary year. This announcement comes after plans for a permanent memorial, as well as a national legacy program in her honor, were created after her death on Sept. 8, 2022, at 96 years old.“It is an honor to be asked to chair the Queen Elizabeth memorial committee,” said Lord Robin Janvrin, the late Queen’s former private secretary who, along with the committee, worked with the U.K. government and the Royal Household to create the monument. Speaking at the time the committee was formed in 2023, Janvrin said “It will be a unique challenge to try to capture for future generations Her late Majesty’s extraordinary contribution to our national life throughout her very long reign.”

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

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A statue of Queen Elizabeth is pictured on April 22, 2024 in Oakham, England.Carl Court/Getty Images

Carl Court/Getty Images

Earlier this year, on what would have been her 98th birthday on April 21, a statue said to bethe first permanent memorial to the late Queenwas unveiled — a seven-foot bronze statue depicting the monarch as a young woman with corgis at her feet. It was unveiled outside the local library in Oakham in Rutland, England’s smallest county, and Dr. Sarah Furness, the Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland who commissioned the sculpture following Queen Elizabeth’s death, said at its unveiling ceremony that “We are witnessing a piece of history today with the first statue of Queen Elizabeth to be commissioned since her death and who gave us 70 years of exemplary service,” according toThe Telegraph.She added, “Rutland may be a small county, but the response to this has been huge, with contributions from local businesses and individuals of varying sizes.” (About $155,000 was fundraised to make the project possible.)The decision to include corgis was a poignant one, as the late Queen was known to love the dog breed and had many throughout her life.Her final two corgis, Sandy and Muick, were given to her as a gift fromPrince Andrew,Sarah Fergusonand their daughtersPrincess BeatriceandPrincess Eugeniein 2021, the year before she died. The two now live with the Duchess of York, and she opened up to PEOPLE about the experience oftaking care of them.

Members of the Royal Household stand with the Queen’s royal Corgis, Muick and Sandy as they await the wait for the funeral cortege on Sept. 19, 2022 in Windsor, England.Justin Setterfield/Getty

Justin Setterfield/Getty

source: people.com