Statue to mark a life of service is backed by party leaders
The late Duke of Edinburgh is set to be memorialised by a statue on The Mall after the idea received cross-party backing from the three main political parties last night.
Downing Street made clear that it backed the idea of a permanent monument to be erected to the Duke. One source said it was an idea that Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, was likely to support.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, also supported the plan for a statue which would likely cost millions of pounds and be funded at least in part by public donations. A Labour source said: “The Duke of Edinburgh dedicated his life to the service of our country and the Queen. A statue would seem a fitting tribute for his years of service.”
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he backed the plans for a statue “subject to the Queen agreeing”. He told The Sunday Telegraph: “A statue is exactly what should happen. I think it would be appropriate if it was a statue of the Duke with the Queen.”
A statue on the north-west side of The Mall depicts Queen Elizabeth, the Queen’s mother, at the time that she was widowed, aged 51, in front of her husband George VI. It was unveiled in 2009. That memorial cost £2 million and was paid for by a special five pound coin produced to mark the present Queen’s 80th birthday.
An enthusiastic Cabinet minister said: “Every sovereign and consort has a statue somewhere. It must be right to have a statue for the Duke. The Queen Mother and George VI are just off The Mall. George V is just by Westminster Abbey in a rather good spot.”
There are no current plans for any permanent memorial for the Duke in Parliament apart from a portrait of him in the royal gallery in the Palace of Westminster.
Conservative MPs lent their support for the calls with some offering to launch a public appeal for subscriptions to pay for it.
Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs, said: “A lifetime of service to our nation should be marked forever by a monument in his image.”
Sir John offered to start a public appeal “so that it could be part funded by public subscription”, he said, adding: “I would happily donate.”
Sir Charles Walker, a vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, said: “It would be a fitting tribute to mark a lifetime of public service and duty.”
James Sunderland, Tory MP for Bracknell who entered the Commons in 2019, added that he would “strongly support this” because he had “more than earned his place in history”.
He said: “The Duke was a fantastic public servant, proud war veteran, senior naval officer and loyal consort to Her Majesty the Queen for over 70 years.
“He performed over 20,000 solo engagements, was a magnificent champion for the Armed Forces and worked continuously until he was 97.”
Westminster Council declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph yesterday as the council’s focus is presently on the period of mourning and Saturday’s funeral.
However, a source said that “the proposal of a statue will be one of things to reflect on in the days that follow”.
A newspaper poll yesterday found that 89 per cent of respondents – more than 7,600 people – backed the building of a statue “to celebrate Prince Philip’s life”.
A front-runner to create the statue would be Philip Jackson, who designed the statue of Queen Elizabeth.
Mr Jackson also designed the bronze statue of the seven-strong Bomber Command crew who appear to have just returned from a bombing mission and left their aircraft.
An appeal was made for £5.6million to build the memorial, and funding came from donations made by the public. It was unveiled by the Queen in 2012.
The statue of George VI by Scottish sculptor William McMillan features the king dressed in naval uniform, standing on a plinth of Portland stone. It was unveiled by the Queen in 1955.