Victoria or St James Park

The Royal Mews are open daily 11am to 4pm, but only mid-March to the end of October. Entry costs around £8 per adult.

020 7766 7302

The Royal Mews is an important working department of the Royal Household and it houses and maintains the State vehicles. These include the magnificent Gold State Coach used for Coronations. There are also other various carriages used for Royal and State occasions, State Visits, Weddings and the State Opening of Parliament. Visitors to the Royal Mews can witness the daily work of the Mews staff, such as feeding, exercising, mucking out and training. There is also an exhibition that explains the history and current workings of the Mews.

The Royal stables were based at Charing Cross until 1760, when King George III moved his carriage collection and horses, so they could be nearer to the house which he had just purchased from the Duke of Buckingham. In 1820 King George IV set about transforming Buckingham House into a palace worthy of a king and he commissioned the famous architect John Nash to remodel the house and stables. Nash designed a Doric arch at the entrance to the central Mews quadrangle, he built the main coach houses and he created two sets of State Stables with room for 54 horses as well as forage and harness rooms. These splendid stables were completed in 1825 and have been used as Royal Mews ever since.

An etching showing the Royal Mews at Charing Cross in 1793

The highlight of the Royal Mews is the Gold State Coach. Built in Dublin in 1762, it has been used at every coronation since George IV in 1821. The gilded exterior is decorated with painted panels by the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Cipriani and inside is lined with velvet and satin. On the coaches body are leather-covered braces with gilt buckles held by four Tritons, sea gods with a man's head and a fish's tail. Decorating the roof are three cherubs, representing England, Scotland and Ireland. They support the royal crown and hold the sceptre, sword of state and ensign of knighthood. The Gold State Coach is pulled by a team of eight horses wearing Red Morocco harness. Originally driven by a coachman, the horses are now led by riders walking alongside them.

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