Categories: World

London mayor under fire for reportedly snubbing queen statue in favor of art celebrating trans prostitutes

close Video

London police investigate ‘corrosive substance’ attack scene

Incident in south London leaves three hospitalized as police search for suspect. (Credit: Sky/AP)

The mayor of London is under fire from critics for allegedly snubbing an art installation memorializing Queen Elizabeth II in Trafalgar Square in favor of an art piece showcasing hundreds of transgender prostitutes, local media reports show. 

Labour Party Mayor Sadiq Khan approved £1 million, roughly $1.2 million, to fund Fourth Plinth installations in the city’s famed Trafalgar Square for 2026 and 2028, according to Express. The plinth has long been used to showcase contemporary art installations, and Londoners had anticipated a statue of the late queen to be installed following her death in 2022. 

This year, the London government’s website shows an installation featuring the “faces of 850 trans people, most of whom are sex workers,” will be erected on the plinth come August. The art project will remain in place for six months, Express and GB News reported. 

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS TAKE HAMMERS TO FAMOUS PAINTING IN LONDON MUSEUM 

Mayor Sadiq Khan leaves Millbank Studios after conducting media interviews on Aug. 29, 2023, in London. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The art piece will feature plaster imprints of transgender individuals’ faces, and will include their “skin cells and hair,” according to the mayor’s office’s description of the art. The installation is intended to decay, and will leave behind “a kind of anti-monument behind.”

BRITISH LAWMAKER CALLS FOR ALLOWING CITIZENS TO CHANGE THEIR GENDER AFTER DEATH

Teresa Margolles’ design features casts of the faces of 850 trans people, is pictured on July 5, 2021. (Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images )

“The casts will be created together with trans communities. Plaster will be applied directly onto their faces. As such, not only will their features be recorded, the material will also become infused with their hair and skin cells. London’s weather, means the work will inevitably deteriorate and fade away, leaving a kind of anti-monument behind. This will continue to command attention and put a spotlight on participants whose lives are often overlooked,” the London government’s website states. 

TEACHERS IN ENGLAND INSTRUCTED THEY DON’T HAVE TO ACCEPT ALL STUDENT GENDER TRANSITION REQUESTS

A protester holds a trans pride flag during the demonstration in Piccadilly Circus, London, during Trans Pride 2023. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The approval of the project means a statue of the queen on the fourth plinth will be on ice until at least 2030, according to Express. Khan’s office told local media that a statue of the queen is still in the works and that he supports creating a committee to pave the way for such a memorial of the longest-reigning U.K. monarch.  

‘ABROSEXUAL’: UK JOURNALIST EXPLAINS LITTLE-KNOWN SEXUAL IDENTITY

“The casts will be created together with trans communities,” the London government’s website states. (Getty Images)

The Mayor wants to ensure we have a fitting memorial to our longest serving monarch. He supports the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee, which is being supported by the Royal Household and chaired by the former Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II. The Mayor stands ready to support the recommendations of the committee, whatever they are,” a spokesperson for the office told Express. 

Khan’s office added in comment to Fox News Digital that the mayor is not neglecting the installation of a statue of the queen, and that any such suggestion is “false and misleading.” 

“The Mayor fully supports a fitting memorial to the late Queen and has not blocked this process whatsoever. Any suggestion this is the case is false and misleading,” the mayor’s office said. 

PSYCHOANALYST SOUNDS ALARM ON GENDER IDEOLOGY BEING TAUGHT TO KIDS: ‘INDOCTRINATING’

Queen Elizabeth II visiting the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, England., on Oct. 15, 2020. (Ben Stansall/Pool via AP, File)

A source told the outlet that Susan Hall, a conservative candidate running against Khan in the city’s mayoral election in May, slammed the decision and vowed to remove “woke art” if elected to office. 

“Susan has committed to working with the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee and the Royal Family to offer a permanent memorial to the late Queen on Fourth Plinth,” the source told Express. “The Improntas sculpture and any future commissions would have to be moved to accommodate that.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Share

Recent Posts

UN cash app for Gazans exploited by Hamas as terror group steals aid money meant for civilians

close Video Protesters in Gaza target Hamas For the first time since Hamas seized power…

43 minutes ago

Trump’s First 100 Days: Gitmo took early role in deportations prior to El Salvador prison deal

America’s most notorious federal prison, a terrorist detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, took center…

1 hour ago

SCOOP: Republicans roll out $69B funding plan for new CBP agents, building border wall in Trump budget bill

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are carving out $68.8 billion for President Donald Trump’s border…

3 hours ago

Taiwan on edge after Pope Francis’s death, closely watching Vatican-China relations

close Video Mourners pay respects to Pope Francis ahead of funeral Mourners from around the…

5 hours ago

Vancouver driver plows into crowd of people attending Filipino festival, killing multiple victims

close Video Multiple dead, others injured after vehicle plows in street festival in Vancouver, Canada…

5 hours ago

Child abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart warns of ‘terrifying territory’ for today’s kids

close Video Abduction survivor Elizabeth Smart offers safety tips to young women Elizabeth Smart, who…

7 hours ago