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Committee to plan permanent memorial to the late Queen

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

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Queen Elizabeth II

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.

Queen Elizabeth II and Shylah Gordon-Clarke,  then 8, attach a bauble to a Christmas tree during her visit to Coram, the UK’s oldest children’s charity
Queen Elizabeth II and Shylah Gordon-Clarke, then 8, attach a bauble to a Christmas tree during her visit to Coram, the UK’s oldest children’s charity (PA)

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 Government said it will support the proposals and consider funding options.

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

Platinum Jubilee
Lord Robin Janvrin said it would be a unique challenge to capture the contribution of the Queen (PA)

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.”

Lord Janvrin is a trusted figure who worked at Buckingham Palace in different roles from 1987 to 2007. He was ennobled in 2007 and sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.

The statues of George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother in London (PA)
The statues of George VI and Elizabeth the Queen Mother on The Mall in central London (PA)

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.

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