Scottish State Coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Scottish State Coach is an enclosed, four horse-drawn, glass carriage used by the British Royal Family.
The coach was built in 1830 for Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge and his family used it for many years until they sold it to William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle, who converted it into a semi-State landau. In 1920, the Keppel family returned the coach to the Royal Family by presenting it as a gift to Queen Mary.
Between 1968 and 1969, the coach was extensively remodelled and restored to its original enclosed state. Large glass windows and transparent panels in the roof were added, as well as the Royal Arms and the insignia of the Order of the Thistle being emblazoned onto it and a model of the Crown of Scotland was added on top of the roof.
The coach was used for the first time by The Queen during the opening of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1969 and then by The Queen Mother in 1977 during the Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving celebration and also in 1979 during her installation as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports at Dover. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh also used it at Windsor during the Queen's sixtieth birthday celebrations in 1986. The carriage was last used for the Order of the Thistle service on at Edinburgh in 1994 and then as a reserve carriage for the State Visit of Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja of Norway at Holyrood the following day.
