You Have Mail, Your Majesty: New images reveal the horse-drawn carriages used to deliver letters between Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace for 180 years.
- The invisible images show the carriages that delivered the mail between the palaces.
- The four-wheeled carriage that appears in the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde
At less than half a mile, it may be the shortest postal round in Britain, but it is by far the grandest.
Horse-drawn Brougham carriages trot between Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace to deliver and collect the King’s mail.
Our exclusive images show a driver and footman, wearing traditional livery including top hats and beige jackets, at the races twice daily.
One viewer said: ‘At least Charles doesn’t have to put up with the postal delays the rest of us do. He gets more reliable horse and carriage service.
The Brougham carriage traveling between Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace
The Brougham was a popular model that appeared in the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde.
The deliveries date back to 1843 and are organized by the Royal Mews, whose stables house cars and carriages used by the Royals.
The four-wheeled light carriage is named after Lord Brougham, who had coachbuilders Robinson and Cook create it to his specifications in the late 1830s.
It was fashioned between the aristocracy and a familiar Victorian view, appearing in the Sherlock Holmes stories and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
More recently, the Diamond Jubilee State Carriage, built to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, was added to the collection of royal carriages.