How does a country honor their longest-serving monarch? The first memorial statue to Queen Elizabeth II, unveiled in England, remembers the queen’s softer side with her favorite dogs.
In the quaint English town Oakham, the seven-foot tall bronze statue by Hywel Pratley shows the queen in elegant robes with three corgis at her feet.
“What most of us remember about Queen Elizabeth is her warmth,” local dignitary Sarah Furness told the New York Times. “By showing Queen Elizabeth’s love of dogs, we show her humanity,” she continued.
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Britain is now beginning to memorialize its former monarch with municipalities and institutions mounting statues in her honor countrywide, now eighteen months after the queen’s death.
Though sculptors began working on some of these statues before the queen’s death, recent commissions capture Queen Elizabeth II’s approachable demeanor, with more slated to be unveiled this fall, including Andy Edwards’s statue of the queen smiling and holding flowers for Newcastle-under-Lyme and two sculptures of the queen by Amy Goodman (one showing the monarch smiling and waving), as well as a possible national memorial in the queen’s honor set up by the royal family and British government.
In an interview, Pratley described the queen as “an almost motherly figure”, with many citizens collectively remembering the queen for her relatability.
The sculpture encourages interaction and engagement, as many corgi owners showed up with their dogs to commemorate the unveiling.
After making a model, money was raised from the public to cover the statue’s £140,000 (approximately $177,000) price tag.