Page 6. South East Times. Issue 66
South East Times Job of the Week
Canterbury Cathedral statues
honour Queen and Duke
The Queen has unveiled statues of
herself and the Duke of Edinburgh
at Canterbury Cathedral to mark her
Diamond Jubilee.
The statues, by sculptor Nina Bilbey,
are the first to be installed there
during the Queen’s reign.
They complement existing statues by
the cathedral’s West Door of Prince
Albert and Queen Victoria - the only
other monarch to celebrate a Diamond
Jubilee.
The Dean of Canterbury Cathedral
said they were “a splendid addition”.
The Very Reverend Dr Robert
Willis added: “They will be a sign
of the high respect and affection
that everyone at Canterbury has
for the Queen
and the Duke of
Edinburgh.”
The sculptures
by Ms Bilbey,
47, from Wellsnext-the-Sea, in
Norfolk, were
commissioned
by the Friends
of Canterbury
Cathedral.
Education
She did not have any formal sittings
with the royal couple but instead
based her work on formal portraits
and “lots of pictures”.
She said the statues took six months
to carve.
The Queen was accompanied on her
visit to Kent by the Duke.
Earlier, they met some of the last
surviving Battle of Britain pilots from
World War Two during a visit to the
National Memorial to the Few in
Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkestone.
However, a flypast of a Hurricane,
Spitfire and Typhoon which was due
to take place over the English Channel
had to be cancelled due to thick fog.