King Charles’ coronation carriage made in Australia with mod-cons including air-conditioning

Australia’s car industry may be no more, but HM The King has chosen Australian-made four-wheeled transportation for his big day – but it only has six horsepower.

The coronation of King Charles III is less than a week away, and the head of the British Royal Family has chosen to travel to Westminster Abbey in an Australian-made vehicle.

While most Australians would like nothing more than seeing The King and Queen Consort riding through the streets of London in the back of an old Holden or Ford ute, the royals will instead be transported in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach – a horse-drawn carriage built in Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches in 2010.

Despite the ornate exterior, the Diamond Jubilee State Coach is based on an aluminium chassis and has electric windows, hot and cold air-conditioning, and hydraulic suspension.

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Above: The Diamond Jubilee State Coach.

Designed and built by master craftsman Jim Frecklington, it was the second coach he’s built for the Royal Family – the first being the Australian State Coach, which was a gift to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the Australian Bicentennial in 1988.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the 73-year-old Mr Frecklington is currently working on a third carriage – this one for King Charles – despite battling cancer.

King Charles – who lived in Australia for six months in the 1960s – has reportedly chosen the Australian-built Diamond Jubilee State Coach for his journey to Westminster Abbey, powered by six horses.

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Above: Jim Frecklington and his creation, 2011.

The traditional Gold State Coach will also make an appearance – having been used in every coronation since the 1830s – taking the King and Queen Consort back to Buckingham Palace after the event, despite reportedly delivering its occupants a terrible ride.

Queen Elizabeth II described her trip in the Gold State Coach as “horrible” and “not very comfortable,” echoing her father King George VI’s comments, who described it as “one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had in my life”.

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