As the King's coronation approaches, royal workers are preparing for one of the most important parts of the day's events - making ready the opulent coaches which will carry Charles between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
The impressive Gold State Coach creaks like an “old galleon” as it rolls along, but runs a lot smoother than it used to, the man in charge of its care has revealed.
Martin Oates, senior carriage restorer at the Royal Mews, will walk behind the four-tonne carriage in the King’s coronation procession and act as the “brake man” pulling the hand-held T-bar at the back to secure it in place when it stops.
Only a sovereign and their consort are permitted to travel in the historic Gold State Coach, which is more than 260 years old.
Charles and the Queen Consort will use it for the first time on their journey back to Buckingham Palace after being crowned in Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Their outward trip to the abbey will be made in the more comfortable, modern Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which Mr Oates described as more like a car with its mod-cons of air conditioning and hydraulic shock absorbers.
Elizabeth II once described her journey to and from the coronation in the bumpy Gold State Coach as “horrible”.
A hot water bottle was strapped under her seat to keep her warm during the unseasonably cold day in June 1953.
The grandest royal coach in the Royal Mews is made of giltwood, a thin layer of gold leaf over wood, and was first used by George III.
It weighs four tonnes and is 3.6 metres tall and seven metres long and needs eight horses to pull it.
In contrast, the black Diamond Jubilee carriage with its gilded decorations is the newest coach in the Royal Mews.
It was first used at the State Opening of Parliament in June 2014 and has heating, internal lights and power windows.
Mr Oates, who is the fourth generation of his family to work in the Mews, said: “(The Diamond Jubilee State Coach) has shock absorbers on it.
“It’s a much more modern vehicle. It’s much like a car.”
Built in Australia, it combines traditional craftsmanship and modern technology and its aluminium body is prevented from swaying by six hydraulic stabilisers.
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