'It's not good': New royal statue divides opinion

The sculpture of the royal couple in the Parterre Garden at Antrim Castle Gardens

A new statue designed to commemorate Elizabeth II - the UK's longest-serving monarch - has received a mixed reception.

The bronze sculpture, created by north Belfast artist Anto Brennan, was unveiled in Antrim Castle Gardens on Friday.

Since then, the statue of the late queen, Prince Philip and two corgis has attracted some criticism on social media and commentary from visitors to the County Antrim gardens.

Antrim and Newtownabbey councillor Vera McWilliam told BBC News NI: “We have to be honest, it does not resemble the queen in any shape or form.”

Belfast artist and sculptor Anto Brennan is best known for his chess sculptures of prominent Northern Irish political figures

'Hope they got it for free'

Richard from Antrim said he was "really disappointed" after seeing the statue online and then coming to see it with his wife.

"Whoever signed that off needs their eyes tested. It's not good," he added.

"I would take it away. It doesn’t do anything in memory for Her Majesty, so definitely I would remove it."

Brenda from Lisburn thinks that the statue should have been "made to look older" but "on the whole it is really nice" and "you still get what it represents and what it is about".

"It caught my eye right away," she continued.

"You can see who they are, but I think definitely it should have been her just before she died to capture the whole meaning of who she was and what she represented."

Alejandro said the statues of the late prince and corgis were nice

Alejandro from London was visiting Antrim Castle Gardens with two friends from El Salvador.

He thought the statue didn't "seem like the queen".

"As it is in her memory I guess it is a good thing but it doesn’t look like her.

"The dogs and Prince Philip look nice, but the queen, it doesn’t look like her," he added.

'Leave it the way it is'

Cheryl, Gordon and their son have recently returned from London, where they went on on a tour of some of the royal sculptures

Cheryl and Gordon from Saintfield said they liked the sculpture but had some ideas about how it could have been improved.

Cheryl said there is "something not right about her upper body posture and her right arm but it’s still lovely to see her".

Gordon added: "I wouldn’t have noticed that it didn’t look like the queen but with seeing it on Facebook and now that I see it yes, it probably isn’t a true reflection of her.

"It's just the face, the rest of the character of her looks correct but the face is maybe not a true reflection of her.

"It is what it is, we all know who she is and what it’s meant to be so I would just leave it the way it is."

Francis and Marie felt it was a "down to earth" representation of the late queen

Francis and Marie from Magherafelt were very positive about the sculpture.

"It’s great, I think they have it down to the tee," Francis told BBC News NI.

"They’ve got the queen as she's young. I think the two would be very pleased with it. And they’ve got the corgis all round.

"That is the queen, she loved being outside and that’s why there’s a smile on her face."

Marie added that the statue "looks like her when you see her out with the horses and dogs. It's more of her private life, more down to earth".

'It's down to personal taste'

The debate over the sculpture began on the comments section of a social media post by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council featuring the first photos of the sculpture.

Comments have since been turned off.

The proposal to commission a sculpture of the late queen and her two corgis came in January 2023.

There was already a bronze statue of Prince Philip in the Parterre Garden.

The Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Paul Dunlop attended the unveiling of the new statue.

He told BBC News NI: "It's down to personal taste, everyone has their own opinion but it is what the sculpture represents that is important."

When the sculpture was unveiled, Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Neil Kelly described it as a "beautiful statue".

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said they are "delighted with the generally positive response to the new Queen Elizabeth II sculpture in Antrim Castle Gardens".

In a statement, it added it acknowledged "that art can sometimes spark diverse opinions, but it's important to emphasise that the sculpture has been warmly received by most who have seen it in person".

"The statue beautifully captures Her Majesty's grace and steadfastness, standing as a fitting tribute to her extraordinary life and reign, it added.

Its creator, Anthony 'Anto' Brennan, is best known for his chess sets of prominent Northern Irish political figures.

BBC News NI has approached Brennan for comment.

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