A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping and, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are informal and usually owner-driven.
Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor, generally known as Lady Louise Windsor, is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, both members of the British royal family. She is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A niece of King Charles III, Lady Louise Windsor is 15th in the line of succession to the British throne as of 8 September 2022.
Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, and since 1748 has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign, although its roots go back much earlier.
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 Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment stationed at Kiwi Barracks in Wiltshire and the ceremonial mounted unit, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, garrisoned at Hyde Park Barracks in London. The Household Cavalry is part of the Household Division and is the King's official bodyguard. Although the Household Cavalry Regiment is armoured, it is not part of the Royal Armoured Corps.
The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, is a ceremonial unit of the British Army, quartered at Woolwich. It is a mounted unit and all of its soldiers are trained to care for and drive teams of six horses, each team pulling a First World War-era QF 13-pounder gun; six teams are used in the unit's Musical Drive. The Troop's duties include firing salutes on royal and state occasions, participation in parades, and the duties of the King's Life Guard at Horse Guards for one month each year. The unit provides the gun carriage and team of black horses for state funerals. The unit is most often seen providing gun salutes on state occasions in Hyde Park, and Green Park.
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 Scottish State Coach is an enclosed, four-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family.
Burmese (1962–1990), a black RCMP Police Service Horse (PSH) mare, was given to Queen Elizabeth II by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and ridden by the Queen for Trooping the Colour for eighteen consecutive years from 1969 to 1986. She was trained by RCMP Staff Sergeant Fred Rasmussen and presented by Staff Sergeant Ralph Cave in 1969.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Frederick Dame Johnston, was a British Army officer and courtier. He joined the Royal Household in 1964, serving as Assistant Comptroller and then Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Sometimes known as "Stopwatch Johnny", he was one of the Queen's most popular courtiers. His duties included co-ordinating the weddings of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981 and of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in 1986, and the funeral of The Duchess of Windsor at St George's Chapel, Windsor, also in 1986.
The Australian State Coach is an enclosed, six horse-drawn coach used by the British Royal Family. The coach was presented to Queen Elizabeth II of Australia and the United Kingdom as the official gift on the occasion of the Australian Bicentennial on 8 May 1988, and first used in November of that year at the State Opening of UK Parliament. The coach was a gift from the Australian people and was designed and built by the coach builder W. J. Frecklington who subsequently built the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for Queen Elizabeth II as a private initiative. The Australian State Coach is sometimes used at the British State Opening of Parliament and other state occasions involving the Australian or foreign royal families, such as the visit of Queen Margrethe of Denmark in 2000. As one of the most modern of the royal coaches it is fitted with electric windows, heating and hydraulic stabilisers; it is therefore regularly used for such occasions. The Australian State Coach is usually kept at the Royal Mews, where it can be viewed by the public.
State funerals in the United Kingdom are usually reserved for monarchs. The most recent was for Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022.
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.
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.
The state funeral of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, occurred on 2 February 1901, after her death on 22 January. It was one of the largest gatherings of European royalty.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Mansel Miller, was a British Army officer and equestrian who served as Crown Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II from 1961 to 1987.
The state funeral of George VI, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, took place on 15 February 1952. George VI died in the early morning of 6 February at Sandringham House in Norfolk. A period of national mourning commenced and his elder 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.
State and royal cars of the United Kingdom are kept at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace. A distinction is made between the State Cars and other vehicles.
Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History was an equestrian event held in the grounds of Windsor Castle on four evenings from 12 to 15 May 2022, as part of Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage is a converted Ordnance, BL, 12 pdr 6 cwt, MK II, gun carriage which has been used in the UK to bear the coffin at the funeral processions of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Mountbatten, and Queen Elizabeth II. It is traditionally pulled by members of the Royal Navy; when not in use, it is kept at the shore establishment HMS Excellent.
