Month: September 2024

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the late Queen ahead of the second anniversary of her death, saying she will ‘never be forgotten’.

The nation’s longest-reigning monarch died peacefully at Balmoral Castle on September 8 2022 at the age of 96.

Elizabeth II, whose reign spanned 70 years, dedicated her life to her royal duty.

The anniversary of her death, and of the King’s accession to the throne, falls on Sunday.

Sir Keir said a new national memorial in her honour, which will stand in St James’s Park in the heart of London, will provide ‘everyone with a place to honour the late Queen and connect with the shared history we cherish’.

The site, approved by Charles and the Prime Minister, was chosen because of its closeness to the ceremonial route of The Mall, and Buckingham Palace, and its historical and constitutional significance, but also because of a poignant personal connection to the late Queen – the nearby statues of her beloved parents.

The bronze tributes to King George VI, who died at the age of 56 in 1952, and the Queen Mother, who died aged 101 in the Golden Jubilee year of 2002, stand just a short distance along The Mall.

Sir Keir said: ‘Queen Elizabeth II’s enduring legacy of service and devotion to our country will never be forgotten.

‘The national memorial will be located in St James’s Park, right in the heart of the capital, providing everyone with a place to honour the late Queen and connect with the shared history we cherish.’

The Queen travelled up and down The Mall in horse-drawn carriages and state cars watched by huge crowds countless times over the decades, making the journey for jubilees, state visits, on her coronation day, and for birthday celebrations, royal weddings and funerals.

Her former private secretary Lord Janvrin, who is chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, said: ‘The Mall and St James’s Park at the ceremonial heart of our capital provides a location closely identified with so many events of the late Queen’s life.

‘It is a fitting site for the national memorial in her honour to remember and celebrate her extraordinary contribution to our lives throughout her long reign.’

Architects, artists and designers will be invited to submit proposals later this year to fit the brief of providing a memorial, which will serve as a space for contemplation and community and be of appropriate scale and ambition to match the late Queen’s impact.

The memorial, depending on its form, will be located just a few hundred metres from the Palace, in the area of St James’s Park adjacent to The Mall at Marlborough Gate, and on the east of the pathway which leads down to the lake near the park’s Blue Bridge.

The path also acts as a small section of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk – a seven-mile route through the capital in memory of the princess.

The aftermath of Diana’s death in a car crash in 1997 proved one of the most challenging times for the modern monarchy.

The Queen was perceived as being out of step with the feelings of mourners, with the public left wondering why the monarch, who was at Balmoral with Princes William and Harry, took so long to speak publicly about the tragedy.

But on the eve of the funeral, the Queen addressed the nation, saying everyone had been trying to cope in different ways and ‘What I say to you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart.’

Baroness Amos, Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee member and former Lord President of the Council, reflected on the Queen’s global leadership over the decades, saying she ‘knew how to connect to people and bring communities together’.

‘I admired her resilience and steadfastness, her belief in the people of Britain and the Commonwealth, her quiet diplomacy, her subtle use of power and common sense approach,’ she added.

The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee is the independent body tasked with considering and recommending proposals to the King and the Prime Minister.

Public funds will be used to pay for the memorial, but the UK Government will also make funding available for memorial projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The announcement of the final design will coincide with what would have been the Queen’s 100th birthday year in 2026.

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Sir Ian McKellen has taken aim at the Royal Family claiming the late Queen Elizabeth II was ‘bloody rude’.

Despite meeting the Queen on numerous occasions and accepting various honours, Sir Ian, 85, recalled an awkward interaction with the monarch while also sharing his thoughts on Prince Harry’s rumoured feud with his family after stepping away from Royal duties.

‘The Queen, I’m sure she was quite mad at the end,’ he says. ‘And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude.’

He said that while being awarded a Companion of Honour (CH) medal in 2007, the Queen told him: ‘You’ve been doing this a long time.’

He then said she asked: ‘Does anyone actually still go to the theatre?’, which Sir Ian said was ‘bl***y rude’ before giving him a handshake as a signal to ‘go away.’

‘It meant, “Does anyone care a f**k about you because I don’t. Now off you go!”‘ he told The Times.

The celebrated actor was named Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979 and received his Knighthood of the British Empire (KBE) for services to the performing arts in the Queen’s New Year Honours of 1991.

But that wasn’t all as he went on to make scathing comments about the Duke of Sussex as well as King Charles III.

‘Hats off to anyone who manages to stay sane in that world,’ he continued. ‘Like the [late] Duke of Edinburgh managed to do, although even he was deeply, deeply eccentric and I suspect deeply unhappy.’

‘Same with the present king. He sort of survives, but he is clearly damaged,’ he added.

Addressing Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, he continued: ‘As for Harry, he’s probably not bright enough or doesn’t have the right friends to really help himself. Mind you, he had the pick of all the pretty women in the world. I hope he’s got the right one.’

It comes as the Lord Of The King actor claims he has ‘no plans to retire’ despite taking the remainder of 2024 off to recover from a dramatic fall from a West End stage.

He hinted at a return to the popular fantasy franchise as his character Gandalf, telling BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m not letting anyone else put on the pointy hat and beard if I can help it.’

While performing Player Kings in London’s West End in June, the acting legend lost his footing and tumbled into the audience head-first.

He has since said his ‘fat suit’ saved him from worse injuries but was spotted wearing a neck brace — stylishly disguised with a scarf — in the months after.

Sir Ian has also been suffering from wrist problems ever since but reassured fans he was ‘on the mend’ despite the shock fall.

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Shortly before her death at the age of 96, Queen Elizabeth went for a ride on her favourite pony, Emma – and made a rather poignant remark during the ride, her long-standing stud groom has revealed.

At her funeral weeks later, the nation was in tears at the image of Teddy Pendry taking 24-year-old fell pony Emma to say final farewells to the Queen at Windsor Castle as her funeral procession went by.

Mr Pendry recalled the Queen’s last ride on her beloved Emma to the Rosebud With Gyles Brandreth podcast.

He said: ”I had an inkling that was probably the last time I was going to see her. When I used to lift her off her pony she was getting lighter and lighter and frailer and frailer.

‘As she aged I used to have to once a year put another step on it. She could go up and step on to Emma, but I always used to have to lift her off.’

Seemingly understanding this would be her last ride on Emma, the Queen made a poignant remark to Mr Pendry.

‘I was on my feet walking round with her, and she looked down to me and she said, “This hasn’t happened to me since I was a princess.”

‘I said, “What?” She said, “Someone walking alongside me like this.”

‘And I said, “If you want me to step away I’ll step away, or I’ll go and get another pony and I’ll ride with you”. She said, “No, no, just walk with me.”‘

The Queen reportedly knew it would be her last ride and time seeing Emma – and later that evening, came down for a chat and final goodbye to her beloved pony.

Mr Pendry also promised the late Queen that he would bury Emma when she passes away, between two other horses she loved.

He added: ‘I promised the Queen that I will bury Emma. Her ashes will go between Burmese, who was the last horse she rode on Trooping the Colour, and the last horse that she ever rode, which was a dear horse, Sanction.’

Mr Pendry said after the Queen died, the fell pony had some sort of ‘sixth sense’ about her death.

The royal had enjoyed ‘gentle trips’ during her last year despite health advice not to do so from doctors.

While the first animal associated with the Queen is likely a corgi for many, horses were among her great loves.

When she wasn’t cheering in the stands of races, she was riding in various events.

The legacy of love for horses has been passed onto her children, as Queen Elizabeth spent equestrian days out with Prince Edward and attended horse trials accompanied by Princess Anne.

Prince Henry and William have taken up polo and Zara Tindall, Anne’s daughter, became the first of the Royals to win a medal at the Olympics.

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