The Victoria Memorial is a sculpture in London, placed at the centre of Queen's Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace and dedicated to Queen Victoria.
The Memorial was dedicated in 1911 by George V and his first cousin, Wilhelm II of Germany, the two senior grandsons of Victoria. The sculptor was Sir Thomas Brock. It was completed with the installation of the final bronze statues in 1914.
The surround was constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb, from 2,300 tons of white marble. It is a Grade I listed building.
It has a large statue of Queen Victoria facing north-eastwards towards The Mall. The other sides of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice (facing north-westwards toward Green Park), the Angel of Truth (facing south-eastwards) and Charity facing Buckingham Palace. On the pinnacle, is a statue of unclear entitlement and arguably relating both to 'Peace' and to 'Victory' with two seated figures (the subsidiary figures were given by the people of New Zealand) this being a design which is evidently intended to be related to both the Greek Winged Victory and to the Russian 19th Cent. Alexander Column (the latter being itself related, after the Napoleonic wars, to other 19th Cent. monuments within France) as confirmed within the official records of her change of name upon accession to the throne. [1].
The whole sculpture has a nautical theme, much like the rest of the mall (Admiralty Arch etc.). This can be seen in the mermaids, mermen and a hippogriff, all of which are suggestive of the United Kingdom's naval power.
There is a similar memorial to her husband, Albert, the Prince Consort outside the Royal Albert Hall.
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