National Memorial to Queen Elizabeth II Approved for St James's Park

A national memorial honoring Queen Elizabeth II will be built in St James's Park after Westminster City Council unanimously approved planning permission for the project.

The memorial, designed by sculptor Martin Jennings, will be placed at Marlborough Gate, the entrance to the park nearest to Buckingham Palace and The Mall. A companion statue of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021, will accompany the monument to the late Queen, who passed away in September 2022.

To make way for the principal statue, the Grade II-listed Marlborough Gate will be dismantled and re-erected in modified form further south within the park.

The scheme, submitted by the Cabinet Office, represents one of the most significant additions to London's royal commemorative landscape in decades. Beyond the central statues, the project includes several other elements designed to honor the late Queen's legacy and her role as Head of the Commonwealth.

The Blue Bridge, which crosses the park's lake and offers one of London's most famous views of Buckingham Palace, will be replaced by a wider structure inspired by a tiara. The new bridge has been designed by Foster + Partners, the architectural firm behind the Millennium Bridge and numerous other landmark projects.

A bronze wind sculpture by Turner Prize-nominated artist Yinka Shonibare will honor the Commonwealth, decorated with flowers and plants representing each of the 56 member nations. A memorial path designed by landscape architect Michel Desvigne will lead visitors through the UK and Commonwealth Gardens, while a children's "discovery trail" will include storytelling elements for young visitors.

A bust of Queen Elizabeth II will also be installed at the Birdcage Walk entrance to the park, and the Grade II listed drinking fountain known as The Boy will be relocated to the western end of the park near the children's playground.

The plans were not without opposition. Cathy Jones, representing the Queen Anne's Gate Residents' Association, told the planning committee that a memorial of this scale would "fundamentally change" the character of the green space and "split the park into zones."

"We fully support the principle of a national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II, but what we cannot support is the detrimental impact on St James's Park of this proposal in this location of this scale," she said.

A Westminster City Council planning report acknowledged that the project would cause some harm to the park due to the loss of trees and changes to listed structures, but concluded that this would be "fully outweighed" by the public benefits of the scheme.

St James's Park is the oldest of London's Royal Parks, with origins dating back to Henry VIII. It sits at the heart of ceremonial London, bordered by Buckingham Palace, The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, and Whitehall. The placement of Queen Elizabeth II's memorial at Marlborough Gate will position it along the processional route used for state occasions, ensuring it becomes part of the fabric of national ceremony for generations to come.