CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Those who have lived in Charlotte only since 2013 may not know the sight - but for those who have lived in the Queen City for more than a decade, this is a homecoming of sorts for the queen.
On Friday, the presence of Queen Charlotte herself returned to the international airport in the city that bears her name. Revealed from beneath a curtain and in front of awaiting officials, invited guests - and those who moments earlier were only concerned about the amount of liquid in their carry-ons, the statue of Queen Charlotte returned to the passenger terminal at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
First installed in 1990, the statue served as a landmark for arriving passengers, who met family and friends at Queen's Courtyard, a plaza she overlooked from atop a fountain. Relocated in 2013 because of the years-long construction projects at the airport, the statue has been less visible: First taking up a home between parking decks and in 2021 going offsite altogether for restoration. Before Friday, an unremarkable tarp kept the statue out of the public eye inside the terminal. Hiding in plain sight, a WCNC Charlotte producer photographed the statue in July before unsuspecting travelers.
The statue now overlooks the airport's 90,000-square-foot extension of the main passenger terminal. The space, adjacent to baggage claims, ticket counters, and security lines, is formally expected to open by the end of the month.
“It’s a wonderful day as Queen Charlotte is back to welcome visitors to her city once again,” Haley Gentry, the airport's chief executive officer, said Friday. “Through all the construction, the development and growth, Queen Charlotte has been the constant. We are thrilled to bring her back inside so she can faithfully watch as we continue to build an Airport fit for the Queen.”
The lobby extension, which also includes a new underground walkway, is a $608 million project that is part of the airport's $4 billion capital investment program known as Destination CLT.
History of the airport's Queen Charlotte statue
Created in Washington, D.C. by artist Raymond Kaskey, the $250,000 sculpture was donated to the airport by a group known as the Queen's Table, according to airport officials. The statue was meant to symbolize the city and greet those who pass through Charlotte.
The statue stands at an unusual angle.
“I used her as a mythological symbol," Kaskey is quoted on the airport's website explaining the pose. "Leaning backward in the wind seemed appropriate for an airport."
Having previously stood atop a fountain in her original home, Kaskey said, "The column sets her as a stationary weather vane. The emblem of the fountain is a compass rose, suggesting Charlotte as a crossroads. The crown in her hand is counterbalanced with the backward motion as a welcome sign to the pedestrian.”
The fountain, with its markings indicating North, South, East, and West, is not part of the statue's new home.
The statue weighs 3,000 pounds and is 15 feet tall - in addition to the 30-foot plinth it stands atop.
History of Queen Charlotte
Queen Charlotte was a German-born princess from Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany, Tom Hanchett, a community historian in Charlotte, previously told WCNC Charlotte's Sarah French.
Charlotte, born Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was born on May 19, 1744 in the small northern German territory ruled by her parents: Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg Princess Elisabeth Albertina of Saze-Hildburghausen, according to the official Royal archives.
Queen Charlotte would go on to marry King George III, the British monarch who lost the Revolution and the colonies.
When English settlers began to settle the lands that are now the city of Charlotte, they named the newly formed community after the queen and her childhood home.
The hit Netflix series Bridgerton is bringing renewed attention to the mixed-race British queen.