Final detail of design for new statue of The Queen at York Minster unveiled

Designer Richard Bossons, one of York MInster's stonemasons, with The Right Revd Dr Jonathan Frost, Dean of York, looking at a scaled replica of what will be the finished statue

The statue will mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year and once completed will be placed in an empty niche adjacent to the South West Door on the West Front of the 800 year-old cathedral.

The work has been created by stone mason Richard Bossons, a member of the Minster’s Stoneyard team since 2011. It depicts the Queen in her Garter robes with the orb and sceptre, the symbols of her office as Head of Church and State, and wearing the George IV State Diadem.

Mr Bossons said: “There have been several challenges to overcome with this project in terms of the design. First and foremost I have to complement the magnificent medieval façade of the Minster.

The carved head of Her Majesty The Queen designed by Richard Bossons, one of York Minster's stonemasons.

"The statue needs to be part of the fabric, not a distraction from it, yet it also has to have the poise and presence befitting of the Queen’s unique role as Head of Church and State.”

The statue will be carved from a block of Lepine stone - the French stone previously used for figurative carvings on the Minster - and will stand two metres tall and weigh nearly two tonnes. It will be installed in the autumn of 2022.

The design was developed in close consultation with York’s Fabric Advisory Committee and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England who gave permission for the statue under the Care of Cathedrals Measure, the legal framework against which all major changes to cathedral buildings are considered.

The Dean of York, the Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Frost, said: “We hope this statue will inspire the city and be a cause for celebration as we recover from the pandemic as well as setting a course to delivering our vision to create a new square at the West Front of York Minster.”