equestrian statue of Charles I

City of Westminster, United Kingdom

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The equestrian statue of Charles I at Charing Cross in London is a bronze work by French sculptor Hubert Le Sueur, probably cast in 1633 during the king's lifetime. Originally commissioned for the garden of a country house in Roehampton, Surrey, the statue was hidden during the English Civil War to prevent its destruction and was installed at its present prominent location in 1675, following the Restoration. The oldest bronze statue in London, it stands on the former site of the Eleanor Cross and faces down Whitehall toward Banqueting House, where Charles I was executed in 1649. As the first Renaissance-style equestrian statue in England, it has been designated Grade I listed and serves as the ceremonial center of London, with road distances throughout the city measured from this point.