Just In: Queen Elizabeth II memorial shortlist includes architect who criticised King….See More

Lord Foster objected publicly when the monarch tried to influence plans for a modern development in west London in 2008

A leading architect who once accused the King of using his “privileged position” to intervene in a planning process is among those shortlisted to design a national memorial to Elizabeth II.

Lord Foster’s firm Foster + Partners is one of five leading design teams asked to create a “memorial masterplan” that both celebrates the late Elizabeth II’s life of public service and provides a space for pause and reflection.

The others include Heatherwick Studio, led by Thomas Heatherwick, the man behind iconic designs including the 2012 Olympic torch and the new Routemaster bus.

Mr Heatherwick said this month in an interview that London architecture should be “more adventurous, more inventive, more eccentric…”

The publicly funded memorial will be located in St James’s Park, just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace.

Lord Foster, a modernist architect, was shortlisted despite the King having been a vocal supporter of traditional architecture when he was Prince of Wales.

In 2009, Lord Foster was among several leading architects who joined forces to give the then heir to the throne a public dressing-down for trying to scupper a development of glass and steel housing by Richard Rogers on the site of the former Chelsea Barracks in west London.

In a letter published in a national newspaper, the group said: “It is essential in a modern democracy that private comments and behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Prince should not be used to skew the course of an open and democratic planning process that is underway.”

The letter was published after it emerged that Prince Charles, as he then was, had privately contacted developers Qatari Diar, backed by the Qatari royal family, to recommend alternative plans by Quinlan Terry, the neoclassical architect.

The King’s personal battle against modern architecture began in 1984 when he famously condemned plans for a new wing of the National Gallery as a “monstrous carbuncle”.

In 2018, he insisted that as monarch he would not “meddle” in such issues, as “it is a separate exercise being sovereign”.

In 2023, Lord Foster told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he would “love the opportunity” to talk to the King about the “benefits of change” in architecture.

The monarch was not involved in the shortlisting process for the memorial, which attracted a range of “excellent creative talent” from across the UK and abroad, from both the arts and architectural worlds.

The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee led by Lord Janvrin, the late Queen’s former private secretary, chose the final five based on the unique skills each offered and the quality of past projects.

They have not yet been interviewed or submitted any design ideas, The Telegraph understands.

Each must create a detailed proposal which evokes the late Queen’s qualities and values and tells the story of her long reign by the end of spring, before the winning team is announced in the summer.

The designers have been told to be ambitious and make proposals on a scale appropriate to the late Queen’s standing.

The project, which has a provisional construction budget of between £23 million and £46 million excluding VAT, includes a replacement of the Blue Bridge in St James’s Park.

An artist or sculptor will also be appointed by the lead designer to make a likeness of Elizabeth II.

The chosen design will be unveiled in 2026 to coincide with what would have been the late Queen’s 100th birthday year.

Among the other teams shortlisted were J&L Gibbons, led by Johanna Gibbons, who has been hailed as a visionary landscape architect, recognised for her “pioneering and influential work combining design with activism, education and professional practice”.

Ms Gibbons has spoken of the importance of creating urban habitats that allow people to connect with nature in order to reduce loneliness.

Neil Davidson, a partner at J&L Gibbons, was responsible for the five-acre Urban Nature Project at the Natural History Museum, backed by the Princess of Wales last year.

Meanwhile, Tom Stuart-Smith is a landscape architect recognised for his numerous gold medal-winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens, whose work is said to combine “naturalism with modernity and built forms with romantic planting”.

He also made the Jubilee Gardens at Windsor Castle in 2002 – the first to be completed at the ancient royal residence for nearly 200 years – and joined the late Queen and Prince Philip for a stroll through the finished landscape.

The fifth team is led by WilkinsonEyre, which restored and repurposed the Grade II listed Battersea Power Station and designed the Sky Bridge at Hong Kong International Airport and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Each team has a creative lead supported by a series of designers, artists, consultants and logistical specialists.