State hearse

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The state hearse carrying the coffin of Elizabeth II arriving at Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth II Coffin Arrives Buckingham Place.jpg
The state hearse carrying the coffin of Elizabeth II arriving at Buckingham Palace.

The state hearse is a vehicle of the Royal Mews used for funerals of the British royal family. Based on a Jaguar XJ model, it was designed by the Royal Household and Jaguar Land Rover with the input of and approval from Elizabeth II and converted by UK-Based coachbuilder Wilcox Limousines. [1] It was first used on 13 September 2022 to transport Queen Elizabeth II's coffin from RAF Northolt to London ahead of her lying-in-state.

Contents

Design

The state hearse was designed by Jaguar Land Rover in collaboration with the Royal Household. Queen Elizabeth II had long favoured Land Rovers as her vehicle of choice. [2] The hearse is based on a Jaguar XJ (X351) saloon. [3] [4] Its conversion from the standard model was made by Wilcox Limousines. [5]

The hearse has large side and back windows and a glass roof to maximise the coffin's visibility to onlookers. [6] It also features three internal spotlights along one side of the roof to illuminate the coffin, which is on a raised platform. [2] [7] The design of the car is unique. [2] The roof pillars are thinner than in a standard model and the roof is higher. [2]

The hearse has royal claret coloured paint with red pinstripe details, which matches other vehicles operated by the Royal Mews. [2] As a state vehicle it has no registration plates. Jaguar's "grinner" badge of a jaguar's face is on the front grill and their "leaper" badge of a jumping animal on the rear panel. [8] Each side featured the Queen's personal royal cypher, an elegant "E" standing for just "Elizabeth" surmounted by St Edward's Crown, instead of her cypher as Queen, "EIIR" (Elizabeth II Regina). [9] [10] Queen Elizabeth II approved the final plans for the design of the hearse. [11]

There is a mount for a mascot at the front of the bonnet; when used to carry the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, it displayed her silver-plated bronze mascot depicting Saint George slaying the dragon on 13 September, [8] and her parents' mascot (depicting Britannia atop a globe) on 19 September. [12] The paintwork on that occasion included a royal monogram in the form of a crowned 'E' below the window on each side of the coffin. [6]

Use

The state hearse was first used on 13 September 2022 to transport the coffin of Elizabeth II from RAF Northolt to Buckingham Palace. [11] It was then used on 19 September 2022 to transport the coffin from London's Wellington Arch to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for her committal service. [6]

Predecessors

Previous royal hearses have included a Jaguar XJ used for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and a custom built open top Land Rover Defender for the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gastelu, Gary (13 September 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II's hearse is a Jaguar like her mother's". Fox News. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sarwar, Nadeem (13 September 2022). "The Queen Helped Design This Unique Hearse For Her Final Trip To Buckingham Palace". SlashGear.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Scott, Victoria (19 September 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II's Final Hearse Is a Jaguar XF She Designed". The Drive. Retrieved 23 September 2022– via MSN.
  4. 1 2 O'Carroll, Damien (14 September 2022). "The Queen chose her final car personally". Stuff. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  5. ↑ Gastelu, Gary (13 September 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II's hearse is a Jaguar like her mother's". Fox News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 "Jaguar Land Rover hearse approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II". ITV News. 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "Bespoke state hearse for Queen who was consulted on the design". The Independent. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  8. 1 2 George, Mathew T (14 September 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip trusted the same carmaker for their final journeys". The Week. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "In Full: Queen's coffin taken to Buckingham Palace". YouTube. Sky News. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Eklund, Zahra (13 September 2022). "Queen helped design State Hearse so Brits could have clear view of her on final journey". The Mirror. The Mirror. Retrieved 16 August 2025. Her Majesty's personal Royal Cypher is also featured on the vehicle
  11. 1 2 Duncan, Gillian (14 September 2022). "Queen helped to design hearse that drove her coffin to Buckingham Palace". The National. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "The State Hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's Orb and Sceptre, drives along Albert Road as it arrives in Windsor for the Ceremonial Procession through Windsor Castle to a Committal Service at St George's Chapel. Picture date: Monday September 19, 2022". alamy. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
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