The Queen received a new crown from prankster’s who placed a cone on the head of a new statue of Her Majesty in Gravesend, after one day of the sculpture being on display.
Steven Fry, 40, who now lives in Hong Kong, was visiting his childhood town when he saw the statue after a night out with friends.
He said: “I was with my friends and we came out of the pub when one of them said we should go and see the new statue of the Queen.
“As we walked toward it my friend noticed the cone and said ‘oh my god, she’s already got a cone on her head’.
“It’s typical Gravesend.”
However, some Gravesend locals were upset by the prank, with many taking to social media to express their outrage.
One wrote: “As we used to say to our kids when they were about 4-years-old, it’s not funny and it’s not clever, just the product of very simple minds.”
The sculpture of Queen Elizabeth II was unveiled at St Andrew’s Park in Gravesend on Thursday afternoon.
The statue was sculpted by Douglas Jennings and was unveiled by the Rt Rev James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester and Bishop of H.M. Prisons and Cllr David Turner, honorary freeman of the borough and leader of the council.
Councillor Turner said that the event was “superb.”
Adding: “Very important people turned up to support us and we are very happy with the outcome.
“A lot of hard work was put into it by people and of course Douglas Jennings has done an incredible job.”
The statue was commissioned in 2016, in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The Queen became Britain’s longest reigning monarch in September 2015, when she became the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee, marking her 65 years on the throne.
Bishop James Langstaff said: “The unveiling went really well, it’s so important for the community to have sculptures and art”
“It says something not just about the Queen as a monarch but the life of our nation that she embodies.
“She is 92 years old and at an age where most would be slowing down in a retirement home she is still serving as our longest reigning monarch.
“Gravesend has also, for many years, celebrated people from other countries – she is here as queen of the commonwealth as well.”
Speaking about how he created the statue, sculptor Douglas Jennings said: “It took a lot of thinking and research when I was deciding what I would have to put into this because of all the adornments and robes she has.
“Portraits are always a challenge. Luckily, the Queen is probably the most photographed woman in the world.
“It became like putting together a jigsaw.”
The inscription on the statue’s plinth reads, “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – our longest reigning monarch.”
