Kae and James Blog

Victoria Memorial

Statues outside Buckingham Palace

Directly outside Buckingham Palace there is the Victoria memorial statue. On a four sided pedestal, the statue of Victoria sits on the northeast side facing out towards a long road called The Mall, almost like she is greeting the thousands of people who come to visit everyday.

The 3 other sides of the pedestal represent 3 key personal qualities of Queen Victoria

Her love for truth

Represented by an angel holding a mirror. The mirror shows the truth of what is in front of you. By the angel’s side is a woman reading a scroll.

Her sense of justice

Represented by an angel holding a longsword, the angel protects the weak and vulnerable who are represented as the nude woman at the angel’s side.

Her sense of motherhood

Victoria has a maternal love for all her people, shown as a ‘typical’ mother caring for two young children.

Victoria memorial – Winged Victory 

Winged Victory (Also known as Nike) is the daughter of Athena and Styx from Greek Mythology. She is the goddess of victory in battle and friendly competition. A statue of Winged Victory is placed at the top of the victoria memorial to represent the power of England at that time in history.


Reference

https://victorianweb.org/sculpture/brock/8.html

https://victorianweb.org/victorian/sculpture/brock/19.html

https://victorianweb.org/sculpture/brock/11.html

https://victorianweb.org/victorian/sculpture/brock/17.html

https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/victoria-memorial