LThe initiative comes on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth, who died on 8 September last year at Balmoral. After months of discussions which, much to the embarrassment of the authorities, have not yielded the desired results, the government of Rishi Sunak has set up a new independent committee – the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee. In the hope that the experts will think about it, with the help of the subjects, a decide what is best to do to commemorate Elizabeth’s reign.
Queen Elizabeth, as her subjects want her
Under the guidance of Lord Robin Janvrin, once the queen’s private secretary and now a member of the House of Lords, in Westminster, the objective of the highly selected group of experts is, in fact, to invite British citizens to suggest ideas for a permanent monument and other initiatives they celebrate the monarch and her record 70-year reign.
The monument to Elizabeth II will be opened in 2026
The date chosen for the inauguration could not have been more appropriate: the monument dedicated to Queen Elizabeth – most likely at Buckingham Palace – will be unveiled to the public, with a respectable ceremony, on what would have been Elizabeth’s 100th birthday (she was born in London on April 21, 1926).
Elizabeth II in Edinburgh, June 2022 (Getty Images)
King Charles will have the final word
Once selected, the proposals from the public will be examined by the government committee, which will choose those most inspired by the life of the queen and her long reign (the longest in history), her commitment to the hundreds of charities she supports and her personal interests. Each stage will be watched closely by Buckingham Palace to ensure that the project respects every Royal protocol. And the final approval will be up to King Charles.
Elizabeth will not be far from her parents
The monument to the queen should be erected near those dedicated to her parents, George VI (inaugurated by Elizabeth in 1955) and the Queen Mother (in 2009), in the Buckingham Palace area.
In the same year the government will set up with its own funds also a national program of initiatives aimed at promoting the principles of the monarch among future generations. Like the one wanted by Elisabetta herself on the death of her father in 1952, when, in honor of George VI, funds were allocated for the creation of centers and associations dedicated to the well-being of young and old.
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