Portsmouth did not want a Queen Victoria statue in 1975
Portsmouth Planning Committee’s decision to restore the statue of Queen Victoria to the former Guildhall Square was made after the members were told that the city should honour the Victorian era.
It was erected to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII, the idea being that the monarch would appreciate the tribute to his mother.
However the majority of Portsmouth did not want the statue.
As argument raged, celebrated sculptor Alfred Drury looked forward to the £1,000 9ft-high Queen being installed.