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Life sized fibreglass lions are expected to be a roaring success as they 'stand guard' across the Royal Borough.

The 45 lions have been painted by leading artists and designers who have flown in from all over the world - getting them ready to be displayed on sites across Windsor. Eton, Ascot and Maidenhead to commemorate Queen Victoria's 200th birthday.

Lion trail maps will be made available to enable people to follow the lions on a voyage of discovery during the three months that the public exhibition lasts.

Artists across the world answered the call from events company Lions of Windsor to come up with a design, flying in to decorate the lions in a range of styles.

Schoolchildren from the borough were invited to create their own designs for smaller lion cub figures that will also make up part of the exhibition.

Lisa Todd, Creative Director of Lions of Windsor - the event company which is running the exhibition - said: “The Lions of Windsor team has had the pleasure of working with a fabulous array of high-profile designers and famous names in art and design from around the world. The lions they have created are truly magnificent and the Windsor and Maidenhead Sculpture Trail will become the destination event of the summer for residents, visitors and tourists."

It costs £1 to buy to buy a map to follow the trail which will stand from Saturday, August 10 until Sunday, October 27. The maps are available from the Windsor Information Centre at Windsor Royal Shopping.

The Lions will then be auctioned at the Runnymede Hotel in Egham by Christie's auctioneer Hugh Creasey on November 21 with all the money raised going towards four charities - Windsor's Thames Hospice, the Look Good Feel Better cancer charity, the TUSK conservation charity and the Windsor Lions Group which gives contributions to good causes.

The exhibition was formally launched on Tuesday in St George's School at Windsor Castle in the company of several of the artists, the mayor Cllr Sayonara Luxton and the Welsh Guards who are newly arrived in Windsor.