THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PRESS SECRETARY TO THE QUEEN

Donald Buttress and Donald Insall Associates, together with sculptors Philip Jackson and Paul Day, have been selected to work in collaboration on the final design for the memorial to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Five short-listed designers submitted detailed proposals in June this year. All five suggested that a statue of Queen Elizabeth should be placed adjacent to the existing statue of George VI by William MacMillan.

The selection panel, chaired by The Prince of Wales, decided that the Donald Buttress proposal to modify the setting was the best fit with the existing Louis de Soissons scheme of 1954-5. Elements from the Donald Insall design were also chosen, including the proposal of a statue of The Queen Mother by Philip Jackson and relief panels by Paul Day.

The selection panel has therefore invited Donald Buttress to work together with Donald Insall to provide an architectural setting suitable for the sculpture.

Philip Jackson, who modelled a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II that was unveiled in Windsor Great Park in the autumn of 2003, will be asked to design a statue of The Queen Mother, which will be mounted on a stone plinth beside the King.

Paul Day, who designed the reliefs in the Battle of Britain memorial on the Embankment in London, will work on panels depicting scenes from the life of the King and Queen together and Queen Elizabeth's life as Queen Mother.

The selection panel hope that the design will be finalised by the end of the year, when the approved design will be released along with the five short listed designs.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The site for the memorial to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother is on the north side of The Mall in London between Marlborough Road and Admiralty Arch. The existing statue of King George VI in this location was created in 1955 and shows the king dressed in naval uniform. The existing site will be modified to include a memorial to Queen Elizabeth. The site lies within an area managed by the Royal Parks, which will maintain the memorial on completion.

2. The five shortlisted designers were selected from over 70 expressions of interest received in the initial phase of the project, and they were:
Donald Buttress, Donald Insall Associates, Liam O'Connor Architects, Quinlan and Francis Terry Architects, Benjamin Tindall Architects.

3. The memorial project is being managed by the Royal Household, in association with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

4. The selection panel comprises: HRH The Prince of Wales, The Keeper of the Privy Purse, The Director of the Royal Collection, The Principal Private Secretary to The Prince of Wales, and The Director of the Property Section, Buckingham Palace.

5. A special £5 coin produced by the Royal Mint to celebrate The Queen's 80th birthday this year was sold to raise funds for the national memorial to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Further information on this coin can be obtained through www.royalmint.gov.uk.

6. Further information about the Memorial can be viewed on the official project web site www.qmmemorial.gov.uk.