'She was absolutely pivotal': Hand-carved statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II unveiled in Walsall

The statue was hand-carved from a single block of granite. Credit: ITV Central

Hundreds of people in Walsall attended a ceremony today (Sunday 15 September) dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

At the ceremony, a hand-carved statue made in her memory was unveiled.

The statue took around 12 months to complete and was hand-carved from a single granite block with intricate inlays of contrasting colours.

It will now stand proud outside of Walsh Funerals & Memorials in Bloxwich.

Jake Walsh, from Walsh Funerals & Memorials said that capturing the Queen's likeness was no easy task.

"In the last 12 months we've been sitting with our stonemasons and artists hand-doing it, creating it intricately with the design with the diamanté in the crown, the gold leaf on the jewellery, diamantés in there, painting the hair.

"All the face all the body, is all done by hand and everything is carved from one piece of granite block".

It has been nearly two years since the death of Queen Elizabeth, and for Bloxwich's own Billy Billingham, known for TV series 'SAS: Who dares wins', it has never been more important to teach people about the Queen.

"It's really great to put Walsall on the map - to show that we do respect our monarchy.

"It's great for the young kids to be able to look at that, who weren't around when she was here, and go 'Who is she?', learn about her, learn about the history. Because she was absolutely pivotal in the world, not just in the UK".

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