{{Short description|Horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox artwork | title = | italic title = no | other_language_1 = | other_title_1 = | image = Carriage Parents Wedding Prince William Kate Middleton (cropped).jpg | image_upright = <!--scaling factor--> | alt = black coach, red wheels, gold ornamentation | caption = | completion_date = 1988 | condition = in use | museum = Royal Mews | city = London, UK | owner = The Crown | website = <!-- Official webpage/site only: {{URL|example.com}} --> | type = Berlin-style coach | artist = W. J. Frecklington (coach builder)<!--use {{UBL}} to list coachbuilder, painter, sculptor, etc.--> | height_imperial = 10 | length_imperial = 20 | metric_unit = m | imperial_unit = ft | weight = 2.75 tons }}
The '''Australian State Coach''' is an enclosed, six horse-drawn coach used by the British royal family. Constructed in 1986-88, it was the first royal state coach to have been built since 1902.<ref name="Stewart-Wilson1991" /> It was presented to Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra on 8 May 1988, as the official gift on the occasion of the Australian Bicentennial,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page5023.asp |title=The Official Website of The British Monarchy |website=Royal.gov.uk |access-date=2015-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214160501/http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page5023.asp |archive-date=14 February 2008}}</ref> and was first used in November of that year by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament in the UK.<ref name="Stewart-Wilson1991">{{cite book |last1=Stewart-Wilson |first1=Mary |title=The Royal Mews |year=1991 |publisher=The Bodley Head |location=London |pages=180–185 |isbn=978-0-3703-1345-0}}</ref>
This state coach was a gift to the Queen 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). Apart from the Waterford crystal surrounding the lamps and the blue silk brocaded upholstery (which was provided by the royal household), the coach was entirely constructed using best-quality Australian materials.<ref name="AllisonRiddell1991">{{cite book |editor1-last=Allison |editor1-first=Ronald |editor2-last=Riddell |editor2-first=Sarah |title=The Royal Encyclopedia |date=1991 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |page=32 |isbn=978-0-3335-3810-4}}</ref> The Australian State Coach is usually kept at the Royal Mews, where it can be viewed by the public.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/TheRoyalMews/TheRoyalMews.aspx |title=The Official Website of The British Monarchy: The Royal Residences |website=Royal.gov.uk |access-date=2015-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223063051/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/TheRoyalMews/TheRoyalMews.aspx |archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>
== Modern use == {{More citations needed|section|date=December 2015}}
The Australian State Coach was often used to convey Queen Elizabeth II to and from the State Opening of Parliament. 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 state and ceremonial occasions.
The Australian State Coach was used to convey Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall together with parents of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Michael and Carole Middleton, from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace following the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.
On 5 June 2012, the Australian State Coach was, in case of rain, to be an alternative for the procession from Westminster Hall to Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. However, it was decided that the weather was fit enough for the open-top 1902 State Landau to be used to carry the Queen, the Prince of Wales (later King Charles III) and the Duchess of Cornwall (later Queen Camilla).
On 6 May 2023, the Australian State Coach was used to transport William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Wales from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace following the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Details of the coach"> Le Royal Mews de Londres-003.JPG|Gilded sculptures and ornamentation on the coach roof Le Royal Mews de Londres-002.JPG|Australia coat of arms emblem on coach door Le Royal Mews de Londres-001.JPG|Gilt ornamentation, Waterford Crystal lamps, high gloss finish File:Coronation of Charles III and Camilla - Coronation Procession (52).jpg|Placement and attire of postilion and attendants </gallery>
==See also== * List of state coaches
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Australian State Coach}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20101220105053/http://royalcoach.downau.com/britannia/g1.htm Australian State Coach at downau.com] (with images) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20151223070412/http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page5023.asp Carriages at royal.gov.uk]
{{State coaches}} Category:1988 works Category:Australia–United Kingdom relations Category:British royal family Category:Royal carriages Category:Vehicles of the United Kingdom Category:Elizabeth II