Impressive archways form a ceremonial passageway leading from Trafalgar Square onto the Mall that leads up to Buckingham Palace. Admiralty Arch was commissioned by King Edward VII as a memorial to his mother, Queen Victoria, and a Latin inscription on one side of the arch translates: ‘In the tenth year of the reign of King Edward VII, to Queen Victoria from a grateful nation, 1910’. The arch was designed by Sir Aston Webb who also designed the Victoria Memorial that stands in front of Buckingham Palace. The grand central archway is only opened for state ceremonial occasions. Admiralty Arch actually contains offices and two residences that were originally created for the leaders of the Royal Navy. Today, the offices are home to several British government offices. Can you find the stone replica of a human nose? Look closely, along the right hand arch used by vehicles as you pass through from Trafalgar Square onto the mall…For several years, it was believed that the nose was modelled on Napoleon’s. Myth suggested that it was placed at the exact height for Calvary Troopers to ‘tweak’ the nose as they passed through the arch to mock Napoleon. In 2011, however, The London Evening Standard Newspaper uncovered that the nose was the work of a local artist. In order to make a statement in protest of the controversial introduction of CCTV cameras throughout the city, the artist fixed about 35 noses onto landmarks around London, thus installing ‘noses under the noses of the cameras’.
- Admiralty Arch
- The Mall, London SW1A 2WH
- Underground: Charing Cross