The state hearse is a vehicle of the

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British Royal Family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, an ...

used for funerals of the British royal family. Thought to be based on a

Jaguar XF Jaguar XF may refer to: *Jaguar XF (X250) (2007–2015), an executive/luxury mid-size sports sedan car *Jaguar XF (X260) The Jaguar XF (X260) is an executive/ mid-size luxury sports saloon manufactured and marketed by the Jaguar Cars brand o ...

or XJ model, it was designed by the Royal Household and

Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is a ...

with the input of and approval from

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and converted by UK-based

coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

s Wilcox Limousines. It was first used on 13 September 2022 to transport the Queen's coffin from

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

to London ahead of her lying-in-state.

Design

The state hearse was designed by Jaguar Land Rover in collaboration with the Royal Household. Queen Elizabeth II had long favoured Land Rovers as her vehicle of choice. The hearse is thought to be based on a Jaguar XF or XJ saloon design. Its conversion from the standard model was made by Wilcox Limousines. The hearse has large side and back windows and a glass roof to maximise the coffin's visibility to onlookers. It also features three internal spotlights along one side of the roof to illuminate the coffin, which is on a raised platform. The design of the car is unique. The roof pillars are thinner than in a standard model and the roof is higher. The hearse has royal claret coloured paint, which matches other vehicles operated by the Royal Mews. It also sports the royal cypher and a silver-plated bronze

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

depicting Saint George slaying the dragon. Jaguar's "grinner" badge of a jaguar's face is on the front grill and their "leaper" badge of a jumping animal on the rear panel. The Queen approved the final plans for the design of the hearse.

Use

The state hearse was first used on 13 September 2022 to transport the coffin of Elizabeth II from RAF Northolt to

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. It was then used on 19 September 2022 to transport the coffin from London's

Wellington Arch Wellington Arch, also known as Constitution Arch or (originally) as the Green Park Arch, is a Listed building, Grade I-listed triumphal arch by Decimus Burton that forms a centrepiece of Hyde Park Corner in central London, between corners of ...

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gar ...

for her committal service.

Predecessors

Previous royal hearses have included a Jaguar XJ used for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and a custom built open top

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (initially introduced as the Land Rover 110 / One Ten, and in 1984 joined by the Land Rover 90 / Ninety, plus the new, extra-length Land Rover 127 in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pickup trucks. They c ...

for the

funeral of Prince Philip A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

References

{{reflist Hearses Road transport of heads of state Royal vehicles Jaguar Land Rover State funerals in the United Kingdom