Plans to honour Queen Elizabeth II with permanent memorial

Plans for a permanent memorial to the late Queen and a national legacy programme in her honour will be unveiled in 2026 to mark what would have been Elizabeth II’s centenary year.

The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee will consider and recommend proposals for a “fitting tribute” to the nation’s longest-reigning monarch following her death in September 2022.

It will be jointly supported by the UK Government and the Royal Household, with Lord Robin Janvrin, the late Queen’s former private secretary appointed as chairman, the Cabinet Office said on Sunday.

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The independent body will consider Elizabeth II’s life of public service and the causes she supported and will seek suggestions from the public.

The plans will be unveiled to coincide with what would have been the Queen’s hundredth birthday in 2026.

Senior figures and experts are set to be appointed to the committee to develop ideas and bring their recommendations to the King and Prime Minister.

Lord Janvrin said: “It is an honour to be asked to chair the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee.

“It will be a unique challenge to try to capture for future generations Her Late Majesty’s extraordinary contribution to our national life throughout her very long reign.”

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “Queen Elizabeth II was our longest reigning monarch and greatest public servant.

“Lord Janvrin will now begin the important work of designing a fitting tribute to her legacy of service to our nation and the Commonwealth.”

The late Queen unveiled a statue of her father George VI on The Mall in 1955, while a statue of The Queen Mother was erected nearby in 2009.

After the death of George VI in 1952, funding was raised for grants to community organisations working to improve the wellbeing of young and elderly people, including the creation of day centres and clubs.