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 original Irish State Coach was built as a speculative venture in 1851 by John Hutton & Sons of Dublin, who held a Royal Warrant as coachbuilders to Queen Victoria. Exhibited at the 1853 Great Industrial Exhibition, it was admired by the Queen, purchased and delivered to the Royal Mews. From 1861 it became the Queen's state carriage of choice, as she declined to use the Gold State Coach following the death of Prince Albert.
Under Edward VII, when use of the Gold Coach resumed, the Irish coach was made available for the Prince of Wales to use, and decorated with his insignia. Prior to his coronation as George V, the coach was sent for refurbishment to the workshops of Barker & Co. of Notting Hill. Whilst there, in 1911, it was extensively damaged by fire (with only the metal framework left intact); however, Barkers completely reconstructed it to the original design in the space of nineteen weeks, in time for it to be used in the coronation procession.
After the end of the Second World War the Irish State Coach (in place of the Gold Coach) came to be used habitually by the monarch at the State Opening of Parliament. It was also used on other occasions, including conveying King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) to Westminster Abbey for her wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1960 it was modified to enable it to be drawn using postilion-ridden horses, as an alternative to being driven by a coachman from the box seat.
In 1988 the new Australian State Coach arrived at the mews, which went on to be used in place of the Irish State Coach on some state occasions (especially in cold weather). That same year the opportunity was taken for a complete restoration of the Irish coach to be undertaken by the Royal Mews carriage restorers (the first time such an extensive restoration had been undertaken in-house); it was completed in time to carry the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the State Opening of Parliament once again in November 1989. Afterwards, the Irish State Coach and the Australian State Coach continued to be used interchangeably by the Queen for the State Opening of Parliament (as well as on other occasions); in the last decade of her reign, when the Queen regularly used the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, the Irish coach was used to carry the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to and from the State Opening. Most recently, it was used by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, as well as their children James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor, during the procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace during the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
The exterior is blue and black with gilt decoration and the interior is covered in blue damask. It is normally driven from the box seat using two or four horses (though it can also be postilion driven with the box seat removed). [1] Along with several other Royal state coaches, it is stored in the Royal Mews, where it can be seen by the public.
The royal standards of the United Kingdom presently refer to either of two similar flags used by King Charles III in his capacity as sovereign of the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. Two versions of the flag exist, one for use within Scotland and the other for use elsewhere.
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His Majesty's "gracious speech from the throne", which is read by the monarch but written by HM Government. In the speech the monarch gives notice of forthcoming state visits, before setting out the government's legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. No business of either House of Parliament can proceed until the Sovereign’s speech has been delivered.
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. She is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, and the youngest niece of King Charles III. Born 8th in line to the British throne, she is now 16th.
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 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. It was built for George III's coronation in 1761, but was not ready in time; it was completed in 1762.
The Scottish State Coach is an enclosed, four-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family.
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.
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex is the younger child and son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. He is the youngest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest nephew of King Charles III. At the time of his birth, he was 8th in line to the British throne. He is now 15th in line.
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.
The coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony. During the service, Elizabeth took an oath, was anointed with holy oil, was invested with robes and regalia, and was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon.
In the United Kingdom, state funerals are usually reserved for monarchs. The most recent was the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
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 State Opening of Parliament includes a State Procession, a formal display of the Sovereign, dignified by a sizeable entourage made up of Great Officers of State and members of the Royal Household. The State Procession is now confined to the interior of the Palace of Westminster, but in earlier centuries it followed an outdoor route to and from Westminster Abbey.
The coronation of Victoria as Queen of the United Kingdom took place on Thursday, 28 June 1838, just over a year after she succeeded to the throne of the United Kingdom at the age of 18. The ceremony was held in Westminster Abbey after a public procession through the streets from Buckingham Palace, to which the Queen returned later as part of a second procession.
The coronation of George V and his wife, Mary, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This was the second of four such events held during the 20th century and the last to be attended by royal representatives of the great continental European empires.
On 6 February 1952, George VI, King of the United Kingdom, died at the age of 56, at Sandringham House, after battling with a prolonged cancer. His state funeral took place on 15 February 1952. A period of national mourning commenced and his eldest daughter and successor, Queen Elizabeth II was proclaimed the new monarch by the Accession Council. George VI's coffin lay in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham until 11 February when it was carried, in procession, to the nearby Wolferton railway station. The coffin was carried by train to London King's Cross railway station where another formal procession carried it to Westminster Hall where the king lay in state for three days. Some 304,000 people passed through Westminster Hall with queues up to 4 miles (6.4 km) forming.
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