Tomorrow, Tuesday 28 February, Dr. Sarah Furness, Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland, will launch the appeal to raise funds for a memorial statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II at a reception in historic Oakham Castle.

The response to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee was huge. All over the county of Rutland in all villages, hamlets and in the towns there were street parties, concerts, beacons and church services.

Upon the death of Her Majesty in September, tributes poured in from all over the county and people felt personally bereaved. Rutland's own Lord-Lieutenant received many letters, highlighting Rutland's loyalty to our late Queen. 

A new, permanent memorial is planned to be sited in Oakham as a lasting tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, England's longest reigning Monarch. 

Tomorrow, at Oakham Castle at 6:30pm, Dr Sarah Furness will officially launch an appeal to make this memorial statue a reality.

Community donations have already raised £47,000 of the £125,000 estimated cost, with another £5,000 pledged by Oakham Town Council. Generating almost half of the estimated cost so quickly demonstrates strong local support for this project from a community with a tradition of service, volunteering and admiration for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth

An artist impression shows what the installment may look like.

Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland Dr Sarah Furness, said: "Rutland is a very loyal county with a tradition of service, volunteering and admiration for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. There are no public statues in county. A lasting tribute that could become a public landmark and a way of paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth's 70 years of service."

She added: "The Statue needs to represent Her Majesty as Queen and be a representation that future generations can recognise easily as the monarch. It needs to be dignified, have a crown and robes and look like Her Late Majesty. 

If the Lord Lieutenant raises sufficient funds, the statue will be a slightly larger than life size full length figure on a plinth. If less is raised, the tribute will be a bust on a plinth. 

Plans are that the plinth will be made out of Clipsham stone, and the statue itself out of bronze, ensuring that it lasts.

Dr Sarah Furness added: "We should only have one such statue because of the cost. However, it will be the whole of Rutland's statue. It therefore needs to be sited in the county town - Oakham. It needs to be easily visible so that it can be seen by all as they pass through and become a public landmark. It should be sited on publicly owned land. It must not be tucked away. Everyone in Rutland must be able to feel ownership of it and it should enhance the county."

Hywel Pratley has been chosen to sculpt the tribute, since he has local connections and is well respected. He is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. His work in bronze is widely exhibited. He is "reasonably priced" and he has local connections having worked with the Le Blanc Foundry in Saxby for years. 

The statue of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be made in bronze.

Ms Furness concluded: "Ideally, we would have the statue finished by September 2023. The month of Her Majesty's death in 2022."

As such, local businesses, organisations and individuals are being asked if they would like to participate in fundraising efforts to make this project possible.

Significant donors (£5,000 plus) will be recorded in stone in front of the plinth. To donate visit the Lieutenancy website where there is a Pay Pal Button or send a cheque marked 'Rutland Lieutenancy Fund' to:

The Old Vicarage

Whissendine

Rutland

LE15 7HG