If you've missed the bronze statue of Queen Charlotte that once stood outside the Charlotte Douglas International Airport parking deck — or if you've missed seeing her at all because you haven't traveled in the past year — fear no more.
Queen Charlotte has returned!
But she's not ready to make an appearance again quite yet.
The airport said Queen Charlotte "wintered" at Carolina Bronze in Seagrove, North Carolina, for a makeover to remove some of the tarnishing that had built up over years of outdoor wear and turned her a bright green.
Welcome home, Queen Charlotte! Her Majesty returned to #CLTairport this morning after wintering at Carolina Bronze in Seagrove, N.C., for a makeover. She will be enclosed in a box until she makes her royal debut at the Terminal Lobby Expansion’s completion in 2025. #CLTRoyalty pic.twitter.com/VYu9QEHHYs
— CLT Airport (@CLTAirport) June 3, 2021
The 2.5-ton, 15-foot sculpture once stood outside the terminal when she first debuted in 1990, and was moved because of construction between the east and west hourly parking decks since 2013.
She will soon have a new place of honor for all to see, though.
As part of a $500 million expansion of the terminal lobby, Queen Charlotte will be positioned beneath an oculus in the lobby. But that won't happen until the completion of the construction project in 2025.
Until then, the airport said, Queen Charlotte will be enclosed in a box, awaiting her royal debut.
