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Edinburgh's oldest statue and possibly the oldest equestrian statue in the United Kingdom. It depicts Charles II as Caesar and was completed in the year of his death, 1685. It is believed to have been made in Holland and may be from the workshop of the Dutch sculptor, Grinling Gibbons. It has been restored on several occasions, the last time in 1984. The fact that it is made of lead has given conservators an ongoing headache, as by the 1980s the weight bearing down on the unsupported front leg was causing it to buckle and the statue to lean visibly to one side. Now, in 2010, an endoscopic survey to assess water intake and retention has found deterioration of the internal wood and steel framework to the point of causing further stress. A further restoration is now planned once a fund, estimated at £100,000, has been raised. The original intention of raising a statue to Cromwell on this spot, abandoned at the Restoration, would, with hindsight, have been the cheaper option.

NT2573 : Charles II statue, Parliament Square