The royal family commemorated Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday by unveiling plans for a St. James’s Park memorial, launching a digital archive and creating the Queen Elizabeth Trust with a £40 million endowment. King Charles III and Queen Camilla viewed memorial models at the British Museum while Princess Anne opened the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regent’s Park. The memorial design includes a glass “unity” bridge and bronze statues; a months-long fashion exhibition and commemorative stamps and coins were also announced.
Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th: Royals Reveal St. James’s Park Memorial, Digital Archive and £40M Trust
The Royal Family
Britain’s royal family marked what would have been the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday by unveiling detailed plans for a central London memorial, launching a digital archive and announcing a new charity backed by a £40 million endowment.
Senior royals took part in a series of commemorative events on Tuesday to honor the country’s longest-serving monarch, who died nearly four years ago at age 96. King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the British Museum to view scale models of the proposed memorial, while Princess Anne formally opened the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regent’s Park.
Memorial Plan for St. James’s Park
Models displayed at the British Museum show how the project would reshape parts of St. James’s Park. Key features include a translucent glass “unity” bridge — intended to evoke the tiara the queen wore on her wedding day — and statues of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip.
Models of the planned sculpture were on display at the British Museum. - Toby Melville/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Artistic Details
The statue of the queen will be cast in bronze by sculptor Martin Jennings, the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office said. Jennings said he took inspiration from Pietro Annigoni’s celebrated portrait of the queen, which depicts her in the robes of the Order of the Garter, looking into the distance.
Digital Memorial and Public Participation
Alongside the physical memorial, a digital memorial containing archival material from Elizabeth’s reign was launched. The Cabinet Office said people worldwide will be able to add personal memories, tag them to events and locations, and explore curated historical material from the queen’s decades of service.
Queen Elizabeth Trust
A new charity, the Queen Elizabeth Trust, has been established and seeded with a one-off £40 million endowment. The trust is intended to support community-focused projects — such as local centers and green spaces — and to continue the late queen’s legacy of public service.
Princess Anne officially opened a garden in Regent's Park to honor her mother. - John Phillips/Getty Images
Commemorations and Exhibitions
Later in the day, Charles and Camilla hosted representatives of charities championed by the queen, along with centenarians, at Buckingham Palace. The Prince and Princess of Wales and other senior royals also attended.
Commemorative stamps and coins have been issued, and Buckingham Palace will stage a months-long exhibition showcasing what officials describe as the largest public display of the queen’s fashion.
“Her near century was one of remarkable change, and yet, through each passing decade, through every transformation, she remained constant, steadfast and wholly devoted to the people she served,” King Charles III said in a personal message posted by the Royal Family.
The events combine physical memorialization, digital remembrance and philanthropic work to mark a milestone anniversary and provide ongoing opportunities for public engagement with the queen’s legacy.
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