The Royal Mews

The Royal Mews near Buckingham Palace remains the working stables and garage to the royal family today. The term mews refers to the place where valuable hunting falcons were kept while they were "mewing" or moulting. In 1537 the royal stables burned down and the king decided to move his horses into his mews - though they have since moved, the name has stuck around. Here horses are kept and trained for the work of pulling carriages for state and semi-state events, and the carriages, saddlery, and nowadays the Queen's vehicles, are also stored, cleaned, and repaired.

Unfortunately many of the horses are moved to Windsor in April, during the "Easter Court", so only 2 were present. Claudia is getting too old for such shuffling around, and Market is too young and has yet to sit his "final exam" - which consists of taking out a carriage into rush hour London traffic.

Claudia is a Windsor Grey - not a true breed but a collection of grey/white breeds from around the British Isles. They are used for pulling the Queen's carriage

Market is a Cleveland Bay - a rare breed from Yorkshire. They are used for pulling other dignitaries' carriages.

One of the few remaining clockwork gas lamps - must be wound every 2 weeks to continue lighting itself at the correct time

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee carriage. The fretwork at the top contains roses (England), scotch thistles (Scotland), leeks (Wales), and flax flowers (Northern Ireland)

The last photo is of the Gold State Coach, the oldest (and most ridiculous) of the working carriages. This beast weighs 4 tonnes and takes a team of 8 horses to pull it, and is apparently supremely uncomfortable to ride in. Queen Victoria despised its "distressing oscillations" and its last outing was for Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. It has since been decided to only be used for coronations - I wonder if they intend the discomfort to be symbolic to the new monarch...