A new statue of Queen Elizabeth II has turned out to be pretty divisive, as it includes accompanying statues of her pet corgis. The queen was well known for traveling keeping these small dogs as pets, and at the time of her death in 2022 she had two – Candy and Sandy. Sculptor Hywel Brân Pratley added three corgis to his bronze depiction of the queen.
Pratley’s statue is the first to be commissioned since Queen Elizabeth’s death in September of 2022. It stands seven feet tall in the garden outside the library in Oakham, England in Rutland County. It was commissioned by Sarah Furness, the local Lord-Lieutenant – an honorary official with ties to the monarch. She told The Art Newspaper: “The statue was made possible by voluntary contributions – over 96% [came] from individuals and businesses, coming in varying amounts from £10 to much more. Hundreds of people from all walks of life and businesses across Rutland contributed.”
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The queen stands tall on the statue with one corgi smiling by her feet. Another stands below on all fours, and a third has its front paws raised playfully, standing against the plinth. Pratley told reporters: “The corgis give the statue a softer, warmer edge, almost a USP, at least amongst royal statuary. They also integrate plinth, bench and bronze in an interactive way.”
Unsurprisingly, many critics felt the corgis set the wrong tone for this memorial. The Telegraph‘s Ben Lawrence raised a lot of eyebrows with his editorial, headlined: “The horrific new impression of the late Queen proves the age of the statue is dead.” However, the majority of commenters online praised this depiction, saying it gave some personality and authenticity to the queen.
Queen Elizabeth II had at least one pet corgi at all times from 1933 to 2018. These “Pembroke Welsh Corgis” were even bred in a continuous line for some time, and at one point the queen and her sister, Princess Margaret bred her corgis with Margaret’s dachshund to create “dorgis.” In 1983, government officials from the Cayman Islands gave the queen a black coral sculpture of a corgi as a gift, so casting their likeness is nothing new.
The two corgi companions with the queen at the end of her life were adopted by her former daughter-in-law Sarah Ferguson – a.k.a. “Fergie.” They live with her in London, and she gives admirers frequent updates on their condition.
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