Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Mews

The last stop in our whirlwind day was at the Royal Mews, the British monarch's stables.  The stables house fewer than 40 horses that are used primarily to pull the royal carriages of Queen Elizabeth II.


We used this entrance.  Evidently the Queen and other members of the royal family use another entrance that we were not shown.


One of the two horses that we actually saw during our tour of the Mews.

Most of our tour was devoted to the other residents of the Mews, namely . . .
the Queen's state coaches.


The Landau
The top comes off this convertible carriage.  At higher speeds, you have to be careful about getting bugs in your teeth if you ride facing forward.


The Canadian State Coach



The Irish State Coach



The Glass Coach



The Scottish State Coach
Distinguishable by the gold thistle carving around the top.

The coach in the next three pictures are all of the Queen's favorite coach.
The Australian State Coach


She favors it because it is the only coach of the many she owns that is air-conditioned and heated.  If you look at this picture at the largest size you can see that it has an emu and a kangaroo on the door.



The lanterns on the carriage have images of Queen Elizabeth.
If you look at the carriage top here, you can see the carvings of plants that line the top of the carriage.  They are all native to Australia.



You might recognize this carriage from a recent televised event.  This coach was the one used by William and Catherine to travel from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.  When parked, the groomspersons keep the leather blinders up when it is parked to keep it from cracking.

We did see one other coach . . .

A coach that you will probably get to see in another event that will be televised in 2012.


This coach was built in 1762 for King George III.  He was the one that the American colonies had the beef with--a little matter of taxation without representation.

This coach was one of the things that he purchased using those taxes.



The Gold State Carriage weighs four tons and is drawn by eight horses.
The carriage is carved from walnut and is covered in seven layers of Gold Leaf.
It has been used in the coronation of every British monarch since George VI.



Queen Lilibet has used the coach three times:  Coronation, Silver Jubilee, and Golden Jubilee.
She will use it again in 2012 when she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee--only the second British monarch to have a Diamond Jubilee.  The other--also female:  Queen Victoria.



You might have noted the nautical theme of the carriage.  At the time it was crafted, Britain considered herself Ruler of the Seven Seas.  This carriage was meant to commemorate that status.

A fun fact to know and tell:
Nice to know that this gaucheness is also supposed to be the worst ride one can imagine.
An admiral who once rode in the coach said that it was the only time in his life that he had experienced sea sickness.

A final picture . . . 


Horsepower instead of Horses

The Aubergine Bentley


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