A new life-sized lion statue is to be placed in Windsor ahead of the Coronation.

Made by residents of the Royal Borough who have learning disabilities and additional needs, the lion will be made from natural materials and will come complete with a crown, sword, shield, orb, and sceptre.

The art project is being undertaken by attendees of Community Lives Day Services, provided by adult social care partner Optalis.

Helping with the creation is artist-in-residence Jo Werrett.

Once complete the 'magnificent statue' will echo the lions on the Royal Standard flag and will sit on a wooden pedestal.

The public will then be able to see the lion displayed in Windsor Yards shopping centre in the run-up to, and during, the Coronation weekend.

The statue is being created out of moss, pinecones, grasses, bark, and branches, and will eventually become a bug hotel at Boyn Grove Community Resource Centre, Maidenhead - in keeping with His Majesty’s ecological ethos.

Jo said: “We have collected items from the garden at Boyn Grove and the people we support have been going out and collecting items they find on nature walks or through Community Lives conservation projects.

“One person found beautiful black feathers and brought them to us and now they are his eyelashes.

“Everybody has done what they can whether it be finding items, weaving bits into the sculpture, or making and painting the other items like the shield.

"It’s an extremely tactile and inclusive piece of art and we have all enjoyed making him together.”

He has been named Mfalme (corr), which means king in Swahili, linking the lion to its native African habitat and the Commonwealth country of Kenya.