London will soon be home to a national monument honoring the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, and although plans were approved for the memorial last year, there's been a slight U-turn regarding what it will look like.
According to the Cabinet Office (via the BBC), previous designs that were shared were shown "for illustrative purposes only" and instead of a statue showing Queen Elizabeth riding a horse, as originally thought, she'll now be standing.
"After careful research and thought, my design for the Queen's monument will emphasize her role as head of state and proudly follows a sculptural tradition that shows kings and queens from the House of Windsor in a standing position," said sculptor Martin Jennings in a statement.
The Cabinet Office also announced that Karen Newman, who spent two decades working for famed London wax museum Madame Tussauds, has been chosen to create a separate, smaller sculpture of the late Queen located along London's historic Birdcage Walk.
"It is a huge honour to be asked to contribute my work to the memorial for Queen Elizabeth II," Newman said in a statement. "She was an iconic and unifying figure in our national story."
Adding that she plans to portray "the strong and complex personality of our late Queen" in her work, Newman said she wants to show Queen Elizabeth "both as an icon and as an individual."
In addition to the new statues, St James's Park will be home to a new tiara-like glass bridge across a lake as well as special gardens. According to the BBC, The King "has been kept informed of the plans and consulted on the developments," and a final design for the monument will be revealed in April to mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth's 100th birthday.
