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These days, each new waxwork takes about four months to create, using more than 500 body measurements taken during a series of sittings with the subject, as well as the combined skills of 20 sculptors and artists.Īs Pamela Pilbeam, professor of history at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of the book, Madame Tussaud and the History of Waxworks, explained: ‘The models were just heads and hands. However, back in the early 19th century when the attraction began as a travelling show, the waxworks didn’t retain quite the same accuracy as they do now. ‘I don’t know where that rumour came from!’ We also made David Cameron before he became prime minister.’Īccordingly, London’s former mayor Ken Livingstone has recently been moved to the archives. ‘When Obama was running against McCain, we had clay heads of both figures. We had to watch this year’s American presidential race very closely because we have to make sure we’ve got availability and time to make a new president or prime minister quickly. The hardest ones to guess are when you’ve got politicians. ‘So this year we’ve got the Queen but we’ve also got the Olympics, which is why we’ve made Tom Daley and Usain Bolt. ‘We always try to make sure we reflect what’s going on and are part of the news agenda’, said Ms Edwards. ‘She is certainly the most photographed figure that we have and people travel around the world to see her.’īut Her Majesty’s waxwork is by no means the only doppelgänger on display at Madame Tussauds.
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‘The Queen is the most popular attraction in Madame Tussauds and always has been,’ said Liz Edwards, spokeswoman for the attraction. Despite being made from a blend of wax and moulded from a cast, she is barely distinguishable from the woman we saw waving at the crowds during the jubilee celebrations.Īnd, although this version is even less likely to smile, it isn’t putting off the visitors.