The equestrian statue of

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...

is a life-size memorial by Adrian Jones, installed in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

, London, England.

History

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (Arthur William Patrick Albert; 1 May 185016 January 1942), was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served as G ...

was made chairman of the committee to erect a memorial to his cousin

. Architect John Belcher and sculptor Adrian Jones collaborated on the project. Belcher led on the original proposal in 1905, in which he requested that Westminster City Council should allow the construction of the statue outside Horse Guards on

. In July 1906, while the statue was being sculpted at Jones' studio on Church Street, Chelsea, he was visited on one occasion by

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of ...

, accompanied by her daughter Princess Victoria, Crown Princess Sophia of Greece, Duchess of Sparta, and

Prince George of Greece and Denmark Prince George of Greece and Denmark ( el, Γεώργιος; 24 June 1869 – 25 November 1957) was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia, and is remembered chiefly for having once saved the life of hi ...

. By the following October, the committee changed its mind on the location of the statue. The new

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

building had opened in August, and they requested an amendment to the permission granted by Westminster City Council for a change of building location to place it outside that building instead. Once again, this request was approved. The construction of the plinth was contracted out to a building company, Pethick Brothers, and it was completed on 18 May 1907. Forty-five tonnes of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

was used, and the combined height of the plinth and statue was expected to be some . The statue was added shortly afterwards during the night, and then obscured until the unveiling. It was unveiled on 15 June 1907 by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

, who had been escorted from

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

by a detachment of

2nd Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

. He was accompanied on the journey and at the ceremony by Queen Alexandria, Princess Victoria, Edward, Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, and

Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (Frederick Christian Charles Augustus; 22 January 1831 – 28 October 1917) was a minor Danish-born German prince who became a member of the British royal family through his marriage to Princess Helena ...

Other attendees at the ceremony included several members of the of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

, of which the Duke had been an honorary colonel. The group was led by Field Marshall

Wilhelm von Hahnke Wilhelm Gustav Karl Bernhard von Hahnke (1 October 1833 in Berlin – 8 February 1912) was a Prussian Field Marshal, and Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet from 1888 to 1901. Biography Born into an old Prussian family of offic ...

. A variety of British military personnel were also present, including Major-General

Wykeham Leigh Pemberton Major-General Sir Wykeham Leigh-Pemberton (4 December 1833 – 2 March 1918) was a British Army officer and magistrate. He served as Aide-de-camp to Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck, in Canada; and, to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. He wa ...

. During the ceremony, the King declared, "The statue I am about to unveil is committed to the care of the City of Westminster." This was unexpected, as the statue was actually owned by the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

. Some two weeks passed before the two offices came to agreement that it would be handed back from the City of Westminster to the Office of Works. In November 2012, a nude man mounted the statue for more than an hour until he was persuaded to come down and was taken into police custody.

Design

Jones sculpted the Duke of Cambridge on horseback, while wearing the full-uniform of a

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. It included his medals, such as four orders of knighthood and his campaign medals. The sculpture holds in its hand a baton, this was intended to represent the one which was presented to the Duke's father by King

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

, and in the other hand it holds the reins of the horse. On the sides of the plinth there are two

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

panels showing the Duke's connection with the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

and the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lance ...

References

External links

Duke of Cambridge – Whitehall, London, UK
at Waymarking
Statue: George, Duke of Cambridge
at London Remembers {{Portal bar, London, Royalty, Visual arts 1907 establishments in England 1907 sculptures Equestrian statues in the United Kingdom

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Grade II listed monuments and memorials Bronze sculptures in the City of Westminster Monuments and memorials in London Outdoor sculptures in London

Statues of military officers Whitehall Royal monuments in the United Kingdom

History

Design

See also

References

External links