‘The Queen’ turns heads in Blackpool as Madame Tussauds replica is taken for spin

A new Madame Tussauds waxwork of the Queen seated in a carriage is positioned in front of Blackpool Tower

(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

The latest Madame Tussauds replica of the Queen has been unveiled in a horse-drawn carriage ride along Blackpool Beach.

Elizabeth II’s waxwork was taken for a spin along the promenade with a royal escort ahead of its unveiling at the popular tourist attraction on Thursday.

The replica was so realistic traffic reportedly stopped as passers-by struggled to work out if it was the real Queen.

Dressed immaculately in baby pink and wearing a pearl necklace, the official staple of her royal wardrobe, it is no wonder Blackpudlians were left confused as the tour took in Blackpool Tower and amusement arcades.

The actual Queen was 150miles away in Cardiff Bay where, accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Camilla, she was opening the latest session of Welsh Parliament on Thursday.

The new waxwork replaces the figure created in 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, when it first appeared in Madame Tussauds Blackpool.

A waxwork of Queen Elizabeth II is escorted in a horse and carriage along the promenade as it makes it's way to Madame Tussauds in Blackpool (Getty Images)

The monarch had reportedly passed notes down to the sculptors to not make her image look “too harsh” ahead of her Diamond Jubilee.

A waxwork model of the Queen first went on display at Madame Tussauds when she was only two years old in 1928.

On Wednesday the real monarch welcomed Dame Imogen Cooper to Buckingham Palace to present the classical pianist with The Queen’s Medal for Music.

The Queen, 95, stood unaided in her private audience room for the engagement, examining the silver medal in its presentation box with Dame Imogen as she handed her the accolade.

A day earlier she used a stick at a major public event for what was believed to be the first time when she attended a service marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion at Westminster Abbey.