Former Madame Tussauds artist tells LBC what the public can expect from brand new Queen Elizabeth sculpture
The new artwork will aim to portray the "strong and complex personality" of the monarch
A former Madame Tussauds artist who has been tasked with creating a new sculpture of the late Queen has given LBC News a preview of what people can expect.
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Karen Newman, who spent 20 years working for the iconic London waxwork museum, has been tasked with creating the monarch's "strong and complex personality."
The tribute will accompany a larger statue of the Queen created by sculptor Martin Jennings, overlooking The Mall, on the other side of St James's Park, which will now be accompanied by a statue of Prince Philip.
Speaking to LBC News's Steve Holden, Ms Newman said: "I'm very honoured and excited and I'm really looking forward to it.
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"The final designs haven't been decided yet, we're still in discussion. But I will make what they call a maquette, which is a small working model and then probably a life-size head and scale that up and see how that looks and then build the rest of it.
"I think she was a very admirable figure in so many ways and very complex. And that's what interests me, her sense of humour, her love of animals, her steadfastness and so many qualities that she had.
"Hopefully I'll manage to pack them all into the portrait."
The figure of her late husband, which will stand close to the Queen’s, was originally planned to accompany a new Prince Philip Gate on Birdcage Walk in architect Lord Foster’s proposals for the memorial.
But it will now be placed in a prime spot near Marlborough Gate on The Mall, which leads to Buckingham Palace, with the positioning reflecting the pair's "partnership" throughout her reign, the Cabinet Office said.
Ms Newman, a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and the Society of Portrait Sculptors, sculpted wax portrait figures including former Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Sir Tony Blair, as well as Stevie Wonder, Yoko Ono and many other famous faces during her time at Madame Tussauds.
When asked if she had yet decided which era of the Queen's life she wanted to represent, Newman said: "I have, because it's still when she's quite vital and upright, but she was for a very long time after that as well, so I'm around the age of 64 ish.
"But because I'll be working from press photographs, which is absolutely brilliant, I will have to use photographs from different eras.
"I'm aiming for her intellect, her warmth and all the qualities that we know and love about her. And I'm very, very much looking forward to it."
She added: "It's a little daunting, I must say, but we'll see how I cope with it.
"I think I shall settle into it once I'm underway with it."
Mr Jennings said: "I have admired Karen’s work for many years and I am delighted that she will be joining the team of artists tasked with making sculptures for the memorial site.
"Her work always has great presence, being both subtle and commanding in equal measure.
"After careful research and thought, my design for the Queen’s monument will emphasise her role as head of state and proudly follows a sculptural tradition that shows kings and queens from the House of Windsor in standing position."