Foster + Partners revealed its final design for a national memorial to Queen Elizabeth in London near Buckingham Palace, in St. James Park, after it was named the winner of a competition last summer.
The project is a collaboration between Foster + Partners, landscape architecture firm Michel Desvigne Paysagiste, and the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee.
In February 2025, Foster + Partners was shortlisted with Heatherwick Studio, J&L Gibbons, Tom Stuart-Smith with Jamie Fobert Architects, and WilkinsonEyre. Each of the five shortlisted design teams shared their proposals in May 2025. Foster + Partners was crowned the winner in June 2025, and awarded the commission, culminating in this new batch of drawings.
New renderings shared by Foster + Partners this April reveal a standing bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth by sculptor Martin Jennings. The statue will depict Queen Elizabeth later in life and face The Mall at Marlborough Gate.
Queen Elizabeth’s likeness will be dressed in the robes of the Order of the Garter, inspired by Pietro Annigoni. It will be erected near another statue of Prince Philip, draped in his Admiral-of-the-Fleet uniform.
Equally central to the design by Foster + Partners is a new cast-glass bridge inspired by Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara. (The late monarch wore the diamond-crested headpiece on her wedding day.) The memorial, which spans St. James Park, will also include a bust by sculptor Karen Newman of Queen Elizabeth later in life.
This will be accompanied by a new abstract work by Yinka Shonibare that depicts the movement of wind. The commission builds off of Shonibare’s past work.
A fourth component of the memorial—to coalesce near the other bespoke features by Jennings, Newman, and Shonibare—is a compass designed by Norman Foster. In a statement, Foster + Partners described the navigation device as “a point of reference for the nations of the Commonwealth.”
“The Queen’s reign encompassed periods of significant change—socially and technologically—which she negotiated with incredible composure and stability,” Norman Foster said.
“The memorial reaches across all ages and interests—and communicates the common values that Her Majesty promoted,” Foster elaborated. “With a serene and contemplative atmosphere, there will be opportunities to rediscover—or perhaps for some to discover—the legacy of Her Majesty.”
The memorial is anticipated for completion in 2028.
