State carriage set for display

A gilded state carriage last used at Charles and Diana’s wedding is to go on display at the UK National Trust’s Arlington Court in Devon.

The Speaker’s State Coach, which has been used since the 17th century, has been lent by the House of Commons to the trust’s Carriage Museum in the first of a series of countrywide exhibitions.

The coach, which includes high-quality carved woodwork and metalwork, painting and small plaques bearing the coats of arms of various Speakers, is believed to have been made around 1698 for William III and was presented to the Speaker a few years later by Queen Anne.

It was last used by Speaker Thomas in 1981 for the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, and was then displayed at various venues in London before conservation work on the carriage began.

The work is now complete and the coach will be be on display amid the collection of historic British carriages and coaches in the museum at Arlington Court.

Ana Chylak, National Trust property manager, said: “Our historic carriages at Arlington range from those used every day to ones reserved for special occasions, so we are thrilled to be able to display the Speaker’s State Coach which is very special indeed.

“In its restored condition, its detail and decoration are absolutely breathtaking,” she added.

John Bercow, the current Speaker of the House of Commons, said: “The state coach is a magnificent example of an early-18th-century carriage and an important piece of the UK’s parliamentary heritage.

“Therefore I am delighted that, now it no longer has any practical role in parliamentary life, it can be passed into the care of the National Trust and viewed by as wide an audience as possible.

“The Carriage Museum at Arlington Court, with its extensive collection, was an obvious place for the coach and we hope it will be the first of a series of appropriate exhibition venues around the country where the coach might be seen and enjoyed by the public.”

The coach will go on display at Arlington Court from March 12.