Queen Alexandra Memorial

The Queen Alexandra Memorial stands on Marlborough Road in the City of Westminster. It is a bronze screen set into the garden wall of Marlborough House, facing St James’s Palace. The work was created by the sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert between 1926 and 1932. A late example of Art Nouveau, Gilbert called it his ‘swan song’. The memorial incorporates allegorical figures and was cast by A. B. Burton at the Thames Ditton Foundry. The memorial honours Queen Alexandra, who died in 1925. Gilbert had returned from exile in 1926 after support from Princess Alexandra, later Queen Alexandra. The committee for the memorial invited him to design it in 1926. The central group represents ‘Love Enthroned’, supported by Faith and Hope, with a boy crossing the ‘River of Life’. The inscriptions include ‘A tribute to the Empire’s love’ and ‘Faith, Hope, Love’. Visitors find a bronze screen with three canopies in Perpendicular Gothic style. Linenfold motifs decorate the screen, and two further statuettes appear on the throne. The inscriptions on bronze and granite bases name Queen Alexandra and the guiding virtues. The memorial was unveiled in 1932 by George V, with music by Sir Edward Elgar and words by John Masefield.