Buckingham Palace & Royal Mews

Royal Mews

The Royal Mews houses the State vehicles, both horse-drawn carriages and motor cars, used for coronations, State Visits, royal weddings, the State Opening of Parliament and official engagements. Visitors can see the Gold State Coach; Queen Elizabeth II used it to travel on her Coronation Day in 1953 and Silver Jubilee in 1977, it appeared as part of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in celebration of her 70-year reign, and most recently it was used at the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023. As its name suggests, the surface of the coach  is covered almost entirely in real gold leaf.

For most of the year the stables are home to the working horses that play an important role in The King's official and ceremonial duties. They are mainly Cleveland Bays, the only British breed of carriage horse, and the Windsor greys, which by tradition always draw the carriage in which The King is travelling. As they may be on duty, undergoing training or having a well-deserved rest away from London, the horses are not always on view.

 

 

Buckingham Palace

The term ‘State Rooms’ is applied to those rooms that were designed and built as the public rooms of the Palace, in which monarchs receive, reward and entertain their subjects and visiting dignitaries. Today the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace are used extensively by The King and members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions.

 

The Palace's nineteen State Rooms predominantly reflect the taste of George IV (r.1820-30), who commissioned the architect John Nash to transform what had previously been known as Buckingham House into a grand palace. Many of the pieces of furniture, sparkling chandeliers, candelabra and other works of art in these rooms were bought or made for Carlton House, George IV's London home when he was Prince of Wales. Today the State Rooms are furnished with many of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, sculpture by Canova, exquisite pieces of Sèvres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

 

Many of the other State Rooms also have particular uses today. It is in the Throne Room, for example, that The King, on very special occasions like Jubilees, receives loyal addresses. On 29 April 2011 this room was the setting for the formal photographs following the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. In the Music Room, guests are presented to The King, Queen Consort and the visiting Head of State on the occasion of a State visit. The White Drawing Room, perhaps the grandest of all the State Rooms, serves as a royal reception room for The King and members of the Royal Family to gather before official occasions.

 

 

Monday 29 July 2024 - FULL

Pick ups: Royston, Baldock, Stevenage

 

Saturday 3 August 2024

Pick ups: Royston, Baldock, Stevenage

 

Monday 5 August 2024

Pick ups: Trumpington, Saffron Walden, Newport, Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop's Stortford 

 

Saturday 24 August 2024

Pick ups: Trumpington, Saffron Walden, Newport, Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop's Stortford 

 

Adult                              £74

Young Person 18-24   £57

Child 5-17                     £51

 

Price includes:

Admission to Royal Mews

Admission to Buckingham Palace with audio guide

Return coach travel

 

 

Buckingham Palace