An investigation has been launched after a man attacked and set fire to The Queen Victoria Memorial that is located in front of Buckingham Palace. Officers from the nearby Palace alerted the fire service as others attempted to pursue those involved after the memorial was wilfully attacked at around 10.10pm on Tuesday 21 December 2022
An arsonist who set fire the gate of Buckingham Palace was taken down as police rushed the man outside the central London home of King Charless III. Witnesses said police arrived “within seconds” of the blaze being lit and tackled the man to the ground. In the video police can be heard telling the man to “get on the floor, get down, stay down” as he is arrested.
“The man has been taken into custody. The fire has been extinguished.” Thankfully no one was injured and the fire was put out.
The monument is 25 metres high and uses 2,300 tonnes of white Carrara marble. As well as Victoria, there are statues representing courage, constancy, victory, charity, truth and motherhood. The central monument, created between 1906 and 1924, is by Sir Thomas Brock, but the whole design, including the Memorial Gardens, was conceived by Sir Aston Webb. The Memorial was formally unveiled by King George V in 1911. The gates, piers, balustrades and retaining walls of the Memorial Gardens are all protected landmarks.
