The Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial Masterplan Design Competition is expected to launch in the coming weeks. The memorial will honour the late Queen’s extraordinary life of service and her contribution to the United Kingdom, Realms and the Commonwealth, offering space for celebration as well as reflection. The design challenge for the winning team will be to create a landmark memorial masterplan that evokes Queen Elizabeth’s unique qualities and values and tells the story of her long reign to current and future generations.

The project site, close to the monarch’s official residence at Buckingham Palace, and in London’s constitutional and ceremonial heart, traverses the Grade I listed St James’s Park. The site will include the area of St James’s Park adjacent to The Mall at Marlborough Gate, and land surrounding the pathway down to the lake, including the Blue Bridge. This setting was carefully chosen by the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee after engagement with the public, key stakeholders and experts across the UK. The site’s outstanding qualities include its historical significance and personal connection to the late Queen, as well as its proximity to the ceremonial route of The Mall.

The competition will seek integrated multidisciplinary design teams made up of architects, artists, landscape architects, engineers, digital designers, planning consultants, heritage consultants, project managers and cost consultants. Additional disciplines may be proposed if central to the design approach.

The Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial project is being overseen by the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee (QEMC), an independent body responsible for considering and recommending proposals for a memorial to Queen Elizabeth II. It is jointly supported by the UK Government (through the Cabinet Office) and the Royal Household, and chaired by the late Queen’s former Private Secretary, Lord Janvrin GCB GCVO PC. 

Members include:

• Lord Janvrin GCB GCVO PC
• The Rt Hon. Baroness Valerie Amos LG CH PC
• Dame Amelia Fawcett DBE CVO
• Joe Garner
• Alex Holmes, Queen’s Young Leader
• Dr Anna Keay OBE
• Sandy Nairne CBE FSA
• Sir William Shawcross CVO