Art & Architecture

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H.M. Queen Elizabeth II (maquette)

This bronze maquette by renowned Canadian sculptor Ruth Abernethy depicts Queen Elizabeth II seated on the monarch’s throne in the Senate Chamber in Centre Block.

Inspired by the late queen’s 1977 Speech from the Throne — an address that emphasized Canadian unity — the maquette shows Canada’s longest reigning monarch holding a spray of maple leaves symbolizing the provinces and territories (a motif that is fully realized in the final monument as 13 distinct leaves). It also features an excerpt from the closing line of her speech: “I dedicate myself anew to the people and the nation I am proud to serve.”

The maquette is a small-scale copy of the monument unveiled outside the Ontario legislature in November 2023. It is the second model in a limited series of up to six.

The maquette in the Senate’s collection was donated by the Honourable Peter Harder, P.C. in memory of his late wife and in honour of King Charles III’s historic opening of Parliament in May 2025. Another one was presented to the King by the Speaker of the Senate and the Usher of the Black Rod during their March 2025 visit to Buckingham Palace.

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