The memory of the Governor Queen María Cristina de Borbón, the fourth wife of Fernando VII and mother of Isabel II, is perpetuated through this monument erected in front of the Casón del Buen Retiro. The sculpture is attributed to Mariano Benlliure, the winner of a bid called for that purpose, and was created in 1893. The standing figure of the queen, in bronze, is holding the Royal Statute of 1834 in her right hand, while in her left she is clutching the cape of her dress. The sculpture stands on a pedestal that is octagonal at its base and cylindrical at the top, which is decorated with bronze reliefs depicting historical events of the Queen’s regency, the work of the architect Miguel Aguado de la Sierra. The sculptural ensemble is rounded off with an elegant female figure in marble personifying History.

© Fernando Madariaga