King Charles III on Tuesday paid a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a video message marking what would have been her 100th birthday.
The emotional message came as authorities unveiled the final master plan for a national memorial honouring Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
Referring to Elizabeth as “darling mama,” Charles, 77, said she had “remained constant, steadfast and wholly devoted to the people she served” throughout her life.
The late queen died aged 96 in September 2022 after a historic 70-year reign.
“Much about the times we now live in, I suspect, may have troubled her deeply, but I take heart from her belief that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon,” the king said.
He recalled words spoken by Elizabeth during her first public broadcast at the age of 14, urging people to play their part “to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”
“It is a belief which I share, with all my heart,” he added.
The newly unveiled memorial design will feature a statue of the young queen created by sculptor Martin Jennings. The bronze statue will portray Elizabeth dressed in ceremonial robes and will be inspired by a celebrated 1955 portrait painted by Italian artist Pietro Annigoni.
Elizabeth sat for the portrait in late 1954 at the age of 28, just a few years after ascending the throne.
Robin Janvrin, Elizabeth’s former private secretary and chair of the memorial project committee, described the portrait as a “lovely, iconic image of the young queen.”
The combined statue and plinth will stand approximately 7.3 metres high at the entrance to the memorial in St James’s Park, close to Buckingham Palace.
The memorial will include landscaped gardens with winding paths and a translucent glass “unity bridge,” inspired by Elizabeth’s wedding tiara. A smaller statue of her late husband, Prince Philip, dressed in naval uniform and looking up at his wife, will also be included.
Charles and other members of the royal family were scheduled to view scale models of the proposed statues and the wider memorial during a visit to the British Museum on Tuesday.
Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was not originally expected to become queen. Her path to the throne followed the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, who stepped down in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Following the abdication, her father, King George VI, became king despite struggling with a severe speech impediment. His death in 1952 saw Elizabeth ascend the throne at the age of 25, beginning what would become a record-breaking reign.
Since her passing, the royal family has experienced a turbulent period marked by illness, family estrangement and public controversy. Both Charles and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, have faced cancer battles, while his younger son, Prince Harry, published a memoir following his withdrawal from royal duties with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Meanwhile, Charles’s brother, Prince Andrew, remains under scrutiny following renewed attention to his past links with late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
