FILE - The resident pelicans stand on rocks in the St James’s Park Lake with Buckingham Palace and a footbridge that tourists would usually be passing over in the background, amidst the coronavirus lockdown in central London, Thursday, April 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - General view of Buckingham Palace and Queen Victoria Memorial on the day that marks the 70th anniversary of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, in London, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Giant lily pads and a bronze tree are among designs for Queen Elizabeth II’s memorial
LONDON (AP) 鈥 What could be a better memorial to Queen Elizabeth II, Britain鈥檚 longest-reigning monarch, than a pod of faintly psychedelic giant lily pads? Perhaps a big bronze tree or a recording of the late monarch鈥檚 voice.
FILE - The resident pelicans stand on rocks in the St James’s Park Lake with Buckingham Palace and a footbridge that tourists would usually be passing over in the background, amidst the coronavirus lockdown in central London, Thursday, April 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
LONDON (AP) 鈥 What could be a better memorial to Queen Elizabeth II, Britain鈥檚 longest-reigning monarch, than a pod of faintly psychedelic giant lily pads? Perhaps a big bronze tree or a recording of the late monarch鈥檚 voice.
All those ideas feature among the five finalists for a permanent London monument to Elizabeth, who at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.
The government is asking for public feedback on an that opened Wednesday.
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Competition organizers put out the call to designers for 鈥渁n emotionally powerful place and a space for pause and reflection.鈥 The memorial will be built near Buckingham Palace in St. James鈥檚 Park, an immaculately landscaped green space known for its waterfowl-filled lake, resident pelicans and neatly pruned flower beds.
Computer-generated images of the five finalists show a park transformed.
The entry by architect Thomas Heatherwick鈥檚 Heatherwick Studio includes a canopy of giant limestone lily pads with twisting stems towering over a statue of the queen.
Another concept is 鈥渁 tranquil family of royal gardens鈥 linked by 鈥渁 natural stone tessellated path鈥 designed by architect Norman Foster鈥檚 firm Foster + Partners, with a rippling 鈥渨ind sculpture鈥 by artist Yinka Shonibare and audio installations featuring Elizabeth鈥檚 voice.
The other concepts include a bedrock bridge 鈥 because 鈥渢he queen was the nation鈥檚 bedrock鈥 鈥 and forested glades by landscape architects J&L Gibbons; a memorial by garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith centered on a bronze cast of an ancient oak tree; and a thread of pathways and landscapes 鈥済ently woven through the natural fabric鈥 of the park by architects WilkinsonEyre.
The queen鈥檚 former private secretary Robin Janvin, who is chairing the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, said the goal is to create 鈥渁 landmark memorial of outstanding beauty that celebrates and honors the life of Queen Elizabeth II.鈥
鈥淢emories of her long reign are still fresh for so many of us and we need to capture the essence of them for future generations,鈥 he said.
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Separately, the committee will select an artist to create a sculpture of Elizabeth as part of the final design. Several of the shortlisted proposals feature statues of the queen on horseback.
The public consultation closes on May 19 and the committee is expected to announce the winning bid in the summer. The final design is scheduled to be submitted to and Prime Minister Keir Starmer for approval in 2026, the 100th anniversary of the queen鈥檚 birth.
Building the memorial is expected to cost between 23 million pounds and 46 million pounds ($30 million and $60 million), the government said.
