The Queen's waxwork given a royal welcome in Blackpool

A new waxwork of the Queen was given a royal welcome when it arrived in a horse and carriage in Blackpool.

The figure was paraded on the seaside promenade, flanked by Royal Livery guards, before it took residence at Madame Tussauds in the seaside resort.

It is the 24th waxwork of the Queen created by Tussauds' sculptors since the first depiction of her in 1928.

Meanwhile, the Queen, 95, attended the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd in Cardiff earlier.

The figure was created in preparation for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year and replaces the waxwork made in 2012 to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

The waxwork sits next to models of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and a corgi at the museum.

Each of the figures on display takes a team of 25 artists a total of 800 hours to create, including 350 hours to sculpt the figure, 187 hours to insert a head of hair and 30 hours to make a set of teeth.

Stuart Jarman, general manager at Madame Tussauds Blackpool, said: "A team of the most skilled, artistic and passionate people around the world are involved in making the perfect wax figure, and attention to detail is key.

"The eyes are hand-painted and every tiny detail is duplicated, including using fine red silk threads as the veins in the whites of the eyes."

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