New royal to stand in Walsall spot once claimed by controversial black Princess Diana statue

A new life-size carved statue of Queen Elizabeth II will stand where a controversial black statue of Princess Diana was once displayed outside a funeral home in Walsall. The granite statue of the the 'People's Princess' - dubbed "creepy and demonic" by some critics - stood outside Walsh Funerals & Memorials in Walsall for nearly 25 years before it was moved last week.

It has now emerged the statue was removed for 'renovation work' ahead of being returned to display in the Bloxwich firm's memorial showroom. The £10,000 statue, called 'Black Diana', divided opinion when it was unveiled in 2000 - but Jake Walsh, of Walsh Funerals & Memorials, said the sculpture also received a 'lot of good feedback' at the time.

Diana's former spot will be occupied by a life-size granite statue of the late Queen, hand-carved from a single granite block. The tribute to the former monarch will feature 'intricate inlays of subtle contrasting colours' and will be unveiled on Sunday, September 15 at a ceremony attended by SAS: Who Dares Wins instructor Mark 'Billy' Billingham.

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'Black Diana' was sculpted by stonemason Andrew Walsh, Jake's father, as a gift for the people of Bloxwich and Walsall. The sculpture was originally tipped to stand at Walsall's New Art Gallery but councillors threw out that bid in April 2001.

Despite a hostile reception from some, Jake said the statue received positive feedback from many locals. He said: "The statue was paid for by him [Andrew] and what a lot of people don’t know is back then, the number of statues carved in the hard dense material of jet-black granite was unheard off. Even more astonishing is the fact it was done with the old-fashioned method of hammer and chisel.

"It’s the hardest material to hand-carve in the industry and thousands of suppliers and stonemasons cannot carve it. The industry has come on a long way since then with the help of new tools, innovations, and skilled workers."

Representatives from the Royal British Legion will also be at the unveiling at the statue of the late Queen, scheduled to take place at Walsh Funerals & Memorials, 39 Park Road, Bloxwich, from 11.30am on Sunday.