King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial
The statue of King George VI was sculpted in bronze by William McMillan, and depicts him in his naval uniform. The statue stands on a base of Portland stone. The statue was unveiled by Elizabeth II in the presence of her mother and other senior members of the royal family. The architect of the memorial was Louis de Soissons. It was feared that the location of the memorial would aesthetically disrupt The Mall, adding a further set of steps so near to the Duke of York Column, but it was positively received upon unveiling on 6 October 1955. The statue was designated a Grade II listed building on 9 January 1970. The statue of Queen Elizabeth was sculpted in bronze by Philip Jackson, and portrays her at the time that she was widowed, aged 51. The memorial to Queen Elizabeth cost £2 million, and was funded by a special five-pound coin produced to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday. A second casting of the statue was unveiled in Queen Mother Square, Poundbury, Dorset, on 27 October 2016.
Statue of King George VI
Completed in its present form in 2009, the memorial incorporates an earlier, Grade II listed statue of George VI by William McMillan, unveiled by his daughter Queen Elizabeth II in 1955.