As a little girl I was entranced by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II which we watched on a tiny television. I was given a dinky toy of the Gold State Coach with tiny horses and tiny wheels that turned. It was lost long ago but I still wanted to paint this magnificent gilded carriage and got the chance when my daughter took a photograph of it at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne in 2022.
The Gold State Coach built in 1762 has been used by British monarchs for major state occassions and especially coronations at Westminster Abbey since King George III and most recently for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
It weighs 4 tons and is drawn by 8 Windsor Gray horses. Visitors can see this iconic gilded carriage at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace, London.