A new sculpture of the late monarch has been revealed in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, with some claiming it has an “iconic resemblance” to Queen Elizabeth II, whereas others have labelled it “creepy”.
Its design was based on photographs taken of the late Queen while she was visiting the town with Prince Philip during the town’s 800th anniversary in 1973.
It is a bronze-cast statue, designed by local sculptor Andy Edward, and it stands at one-and-a-quarter times life size and is positioned just inches above ground level in the town’s Queens Gardens.
Fans have flocked to social media platform X to praise the statue’s likeness to the late Queen: “Artistically this is a beautiful statue and monument! I miss the queen.”
Another wrote: “Thank goodness we can recognise who it is.”
Among the positive comments about the new statue, a few have questioned it’s appearance.
One user simply wrote “creepy”, whereas another admitted, “I still think they could have dressed her better”.
A third wrote: “Sorry…but whoever commissions these statues needs to find a new sculptor.”
Commissioned by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, the statue’s design is inspired by photographs of Her Majesty taken during her visit to the town in 1973, which marked the 800th anniversary.
Mr Edwards told BBC Radio Stoke he was struck by how “elegant and lovely” the Queen looked in the photos taken of her in 1973.
Meanwhile, a cash-strapped council was slammed for spending £35,000 of taxpayers cash on two corgi statues in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Walsall Council forked out thousands of pounds on the stone corgis which have gone on display in Walsall Arboretum as it celebrates its 150th anniversary.
But many residents have questioned whether the cash could have been spent better elsewhere as the authority looks to slash £20m from its budget this year.
Daniel Taylor, 32, of Ryecroft, Walsall, added: “They’re nice, it looks like they did good work on them. I’m not really sure what they are for though. They could do with a little plaque or something, just something to let people know what it is about.”