Queen Elizabeth II (photo courtesy of the UK Ministry of Defence)
Earlier this year, the British government announced it would hold a competition for a London monument honoring the late Queen Elizabeth II. And now, the memorial committee has chosen a design by the esteemed architecture firm Foster + Partners.
Foster + Partners is a world-renowned architecture firm based in London, with their designs earning it top architecture prizes, including the Stirling Prize and the Pritzker Prize. Some of its most notable designs include the Millennium Bridge, London City Hall, the London skyscraper known as the Gherkin, the Hearst Tower in New York City, Apple Park in Cupertino, California, and the new Wembley Stadium. Foster + Partners’ designs for the queen’s memorial feature several components. They include a series of gardens situated on both sides of the park’s central lake, which will be dedicated to Britain’s communities and the Commonwealth of Nations. The space will also include areas for artists’ installations, with the British-Nigerian sculptor Yinka Shonibare already set to create a work of public art. A new bridge made of glass will cross the park’s lake, designed to invoke the appearance of the Queen Mary Fringe tiara, a tiara the queen wore at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947. It will replace the currently standing Blue Bridge, one of the most popular spots for photographs in Saint James’s Park. A large equestrian statue of the queen herself will be placed close to Marlborough Gate near the northern boundary of the park. Meanwhile, a new gate dedicated to Prince Philip will mark the other end of the memorial area, featuring a statue of the royal couple.
Robin Janvrin, chair of the design committee and private secretary to the queen for over eight years, commented, “All five of the shortlisted teams produced creative designs of the highest quality. Foster + Partners’ ambitious and thoughtful master plan will allow us and future generations to appreciate Queen Elizabeth‘s life of service as she balanced continuity and change with strong values, common sense and optimism throughout her long reign.” The memorial area will be developed in stages, allowing visitors to access the area during construction. While Foster + Partners has released the broad strokes of their masterplan, many of the details still need to be hammered out. The final designs are scheduled to be formally unveiled in April 2026 on what would have been the queen’s one-hundredth birthday.