You’ve got mail, Your Majesty: New images reveal the horse-drawn carriages that were used to deliver letters between Buckingham Palace and St James’ Palace for 180 years
- Unseen images show the carriages that delivered the mail between the palaces
- The four-wheeled carriage featured in the Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde stories
At under half a mile it has to be the shortest round of posts in Britain – but it’s by far the grandest.
Horse-drawn Brougham carriages trotted between Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace to deliver and collect the King’s mail.
Our exclusive images feature a driver and valet – in traditional livery, including top hats and beige jackets – on the twice-daily trips.
A viewer said: “At least Charles doesn’t have to put up with the postal delays that the rest of us suffer. He is more reliably served by horse and carriage.«
The Brougham carriage, stationed between Buckingham Palace and St James Palace
The Brougham was a popular model that appeared in the Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde stories
Deliveries date back to 1843 and are organized by the Royal Mews, whose stables are home to royal cars and carriages.
The light four-wheeled carriage is named after Lord Brougham, who had it built to his specifications by coachbuilders Robinson and Cook in the late 1830s.
It was fashionable among the aristocracy and a familiar Victorian sight, appearing in Sherlock Holmes stories and in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Recently the Royal Coach Collection has been expanded to include the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, built to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.