A commemorative statue of the Queen has been unveiled beside the River Thames in Surrey as part of events marking the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.

 

The 4m (13ft) bronze sculpture at Runnymede Pleasure Grounds shows the Queen in full Garter Robes.The Statue is inspired by the famous 1954 and 1969 portraits of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Pietro Annigoni.

 

James decided to sculpt the Queen as a young woman, “as a great tribute not only to her as a Queen but also to her beauty”.
 

He would normally spend a year perfecting a sculpture, but only had a month for this one in order for it to be cast in time for the anniversary. So, in his ninth decade, he worked 12-hour days all through a wet January, modelling clay in a freezing-cold studio. 

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But he has no complaints.

 

“I’m a great royalist. She has been a wonderful figurehead for this country and this is the ultimate commission,” he said. “Who could be better to do than the bloody Queen?”