The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight-horse-drawn carriage used by the British royal family. Commissioned in 1760 by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III, and designed by Sir William Chambers, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Butler. It was commissioned for £7,562 (£3.54 million = US$4.188 million in 2022, adjusted for inflation). [1] [2] It was built for George III's coronation in 1761, but was not ready in time; [3] it was completed in 1762.
This coach has been used at the coronation of every British monarch since William IV. [4] The coach's great age, weight, and lack of manoeuvrability have limited its use to grand state occasions such as coronations and the jubilees of a monarch. Until the Second World War, the coach was the monarch's usual transport to and from Parliament at the State Opening.
It was last used at the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023. When not in use the coach is housed at the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace, where it is kept on view for the public.
Over 260 years old, it is made of wood covered in gold leaf. The interior is lined with velvet and silk. It is 29 feet long, almost 12 foot tall, and weighs 4 tons.
The coach weighs four tons and is 29 feet (8.8 m) long and 12 feet (3.7 m) high. It is gilded and features painted panels by Giovanni Battista Cipriani and rich gilded sculpture. The body of the coach is slung by braces covered with Morocco leather and decorated with gilt buckles. The interior is lined with velvet and satin. The sculptor Sir Joseph Wilton produced the elaborate carvings on the coach. The roof supports three cherubs representing the union of England, Scotland and Ireland. They carry the Imperial Crown and hold the sword, sceptre and the badge representing Knighthood. The branches of eight gilded palm trees frame the roof. Four corner trees rise from a lion's head and are decorated with symbols of Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War with France. The war was drawing to a close when the coach was built in 1762. Morocco leather straps support the body of the coach and are held by four tritons, mythical sea-gods with a man's head and a dolphin's tail. At the front wheels, the tritons seem to be using the straps to pull the coach. They are blowing conchs, trumpet-like shells to herald the arrival of the Monarch of the Ocean. Gilded dolphins hold in place the bar by which the coach is drawn, and the driver's foot board (no longer used) is in the shape of a scallop shell. The two tritons at the back carry imperial symbols, representing Britain's maritime traditions and status as a dominant sea power. [5]
The carvings give the Gold Coach the air of a triumphant chariot, reflecting Britain's powerful position in the world at the time.
The Gold State Coach is pulled by a team of eight horses wearing the Red Morocco harness. Originally driven by a coachman, the eight horses are now postilion-ridden in four pairs. [6] The coach is so heavy it can only be pulled at a walk. [1] The coach has (gilded) brakes, which are operated by the grooms.
As the coach is suspended from braces, it lacks more modern comfort. Modern coaches such as the Australian State Coach and the Diamond Jubilee State Coach have electric windows, heating and hydraulic stabilizers.
Most monarchs have expressed displeasure in riding the Gold State Coach. In the words of King William IV, a former naval officer, being driven in the Gold State Coach was like being on board a ship "tossing in a rough sea". Queen Victoria complained of the "distressing oscillation" of the cabin. She would often refuse to ride in the Gold State Coach. A later monarch, King George VI said that his journey from the palace to Westminster Abbey for his coronation was "one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had in my life". [7] He had the coach overhauled after the Second World War to rubberize the iron-bound wheels. This would afford at least some comfort to the passengers. [1] Queen Elizabeth II referred to her coronation journey in the coach as "horrible" and "not very comfortable", which is possibly why it was not used for her Diamond Jubilee when she was aged 86, having previously featured in her Silver and Golden Jubilee celebrations. [8] It was brought back as part of a pageant for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations with a Pepper's ghost effect being used to show archive film of the young Queen waving to crowds from the coach. [9] [10]
The coach is managed by four postilions, nine walking grooms (one of whom walks behind the coach), six footmen, and four Yeoman of the Guard carrying their long partisans. Eight of the grooms walk beside the horses. The more ornately dressed footmen walk beside the body of the coach. The grooms may help handle the horses if the animals become unruly, and they carry crooked walking-sticks to hold up the traces that may become slack when the coach is taking a corner. [11] The horses are always Windsor Greys.
The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British royal family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and then within the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs.
The Irish State Coach is an enclosed, four-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. It is the traditional horse-drawn coach in which the British monarch travels from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster to formally open the new legislative session of the UK Parliament.
The King's Bargemaster is a subordinate officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Until the mid-19th century, the Royal Family frequently used a royal barge for transport along the River Thames. The role of the King's Bargemaster was to oversee this. The tradition of the Bargemaster dates back to 1215, with the signing of Magna Carta at Runnymede. The role is now largely ceremonial.
The Scottish State Coach is an enclosed, four-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family.
The Golden Coach is a coach owned and used by the Dutch royal family. The Golden Coach was used every year to carry the Dutch monarch from the Noordeinde Palace to the Ridderzaal in order to deliver the Speech from the Throne or the wedding of the Prince of Orange or the Princess of Orange. The Golden Coach is stored at the Royal Stables on the Noordeinde Palace grounds in The Hague.
Windsor Grey is a moniker for the grey horses used by the British monarchy to pull carriages in ceremonial processions such as those for coronations, royal weddings, Trooping the Colour, and the opening of Parliament. They are named for Windsor Castle where they were originally stabled, though today they live at the Royal Mews near Buckingham Palace.
In coachbuilding, a landau is a four-wheeled carriage with a roof that can be let down. It was a luxury carriage. The low shell of the landau provides maximal visibility of the occupants and their clothing, a feature that makes a landau still a popular choice for Lord Mayors in the United Kingdom on ceremonial occasions.
The Australian State Coach is an enclosed, six horse-drawn coach used by the British Royal Family. Constructed in 1986-88, it was the first royal state coach to have been built since 1902. It was presented to Queen Elizabeth II of Australia and the United Kingdom in Canberra on 8 May 1988, as the official gift on the occasion of the Australian Bicentennial, and was first used in November of that year by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament in the UK.
The Diamond Jubilee State Coach is an enclosed, six-horse-drawn carriage that was made to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday, but completion was delayed for nearly eight years. Eventually, it became a commemoration for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
William James Frecklington, known as "W. J." or "Jim", is a maker of carriages.
The Speaker's State Coach is the oldest of the three great State Coaches of the United Kingdom. Like the Gold State Coach and the Lord Mayor of London's State Coach it is elaborately carved and gilded, and is decorated with allegorical paintings by G. B. Cipriani.
The United Kingdom's 1902 State Landau is a horse-drawn carriage with a flexible leather roof which drops in two exact halves, back and front.
Queen Alexandra's State Coach is one of several State Carriages maintained at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace. It was built around the year 1865, initially as a plain "town coach". Some 30 years later it was glazed and converted into a State Coach for the use of the Princess of Wales Alexandra.
The Glass Coach is one of the principal State carriages of the British monarch. Built by Peters & Sons of London in 1881, it had originally been designed as a sheriff's coach, but was purchased by the Crown in time for the coronation of George V in 1911.
The list of Diamond Jubilee Honours 2012 was released on 13 September 2012 and made appointments and promotions within the Royal Victorian Order to recognise contributions to the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood recognising distinguished personal service to the Sovereign, and remains in the personal gift of the monarch.
From an early age, Queen Elizabeth II took a keen interest in horses. Into her reign, this developed into one of her main leisure time activities with a particular emphasis on the breeding of thoroughbreds for horse racing.
Several monarchs have used golden coaches. These horse-drawn coaches were made of wood and covered with gold leaf, a solid golden coach would be very expensive and so heavy that it would be a practical impossibility.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant was held on Sunday, 5 June 2022 near Buckingham Palace, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Conceived and directed by David Zolkwer with Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, it featured over 10,000 people from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and combined street arts, music, puppets, carnival and costume to celebrate the Queen's reign, as well as honouring the collective service of people and communities across the United Kingdom.
The Golden Coupé, also known as State Coach No. 1, is the finest of the carriages still used by the Danish royal family. Built in Henry Fife's Copenhagen workshop in 1839–1840, it was first used by Christian VIII. Since then, it has been used by all Danish monarchs. It is used today by Margrethe II for the annual New Year's levee in January as well as for special occasions, such as jubilees and state visits.