thumbnail|Entrance to 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, and then (since the 1820s) within the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace, includes an extensive display of royal carriages and other associated items, and is open to the public for much of the year. It is also a working part of the palace, where horses and people live and work, and where carriages and cars are in daily use supporting the work of the monarch as head of state.

The titular head of the Royal Mews is the Master of the Horse (one of the three great officers of the Royal Household). The executive head is the Crown Equerry, who lives on site and oversees the Royal Mews Department (which is a department of the Royal Household).

History

At Charing Cross

thumb|right|"The mewes" (top right) at [[Charing Cross, depicted on John Norden's map of Westminster, 1593. The map is oriented with north-west to the top.]]

The first set of stables to be referred to as a mews was at Charing Cross at the western end of The Strand. The royal hawks were kept at this site from 1377 and the name originates from the fact that they were confined there at moulting time ("mew" being derived from the French verb "muer", to moult).

In the Tudor Period, the Royal Stables were located in Lomesbury (present-day Bloomsbury). In 1534 they were destroyed by fire, whereupon the King, Henry VIII, decided to rebuild the Charing Cross mews as a stables (the hawks having been given alternative accommodation). It kept its former name when it acquired this new function. On old maps, such as the "Woodcut" map of London of the early 1560s, the Mews can be seen extending back towards the site of today's Leicester Square.

When George I came to the throne in 1714 he brought with him to London the famous cream stallions which he was wont to use as Elector of Hanover.

The whole site was cleared in the late 1820s to create Trafalgar Square, laid out in 1837–1844 after delays, and the National Gallery which opened in 1838.

At Buckingham Palace

thumb|Stables in the Royal Mews

The present Royal Mews is in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, to the south of Buckingham Palace Gardens, near Grosvenor Place.

In the 1760s George III moved some of his day-to-day horses and carriages to the grounds of Buckingham House, which he had acquired in 1762 for his wife's use. The Riding School, thought to be by William Chambers, dates from this period (it was completed in 1764; the pediment, with sculptural motifs by William Theed, was added in 1859). Beyond it, the 'back mews' included accommodation for a veterinary surgeon.

thumb|right|The Main Quadrangle in 2015.

When Victoria came to the throne in 1837, Buckingham Palace became the monarch's principal residence. Prince Albert used the back mews for stabling his own horses (for riding and driving). By the 1850s there were just under two hundred people employed at the mews, most of whom lived on site with their families. The conversion duly took place, and accommodation was provided nearby for the chauffeurs.

thumb|The Royal Mews Riding School (of 1764) measures 54m x 15m.

In the early 20th century problems had arisen due to inbreeding of the Hanoverian creams. In 1920 they were withdrawn from use and in their place, for the rest of the decade, bay horses took pride of place in the Mews. The coronation that year involved thirty-four coaches and carriages with seventy-eight horses in harness.

In 1988 a new state coach was presented to the Mews, the Australian State Coach, built by former Mews employee W. J. Frecklington as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations; it was the first new royal state coach to be built since the 1902 State Landau.

Locations

thumb|upright|Entrance to the Royal Mews, Windsor Castle

The Royal Mews is an institution that operates across multiple sites. Its primary headquarters has been at Buckingham Palace since the 1820s, although since late 2025 a significant portion of its operations has begun shifting to Windsor.

The Royal Mews at Windsor Castle is where the Ascot carriages are normally kept, together with vehicles used in Windsor Great Park. Some riding horses are also stabled there.

In Scotland, at Holyrood Palace, the Royal Mews is situated in Abbey Strand. It is one of the oldest parts of the palace, and is still used whenever royal carriages are used in Edinburgh.

Also in London is the Royal Mews at Hampton Court Palace which overlooks Hampton Court Green. It provides accommodation for royal staff, and horses are stabled there from time to time. It is not open to the public.

Historically, the old stables of St James's Palace, which stood where Lancaster House is now, were also sometimes referred to as the Royal Mews.

Carriage horses

thumb|right|[[Windsor Greys at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace.]]

The complement of horses in the Royal Mews includes around a dozen Windsor Greys and eighteen Cleveland Bays. Most are in regular use, and some (for example, the broughams) are driven on a daily basis. Others (above all the Gold Coach) are only used on great and rare state occasions. The list includes vehicles for personal, recreational and sporting use, as well as those designed and kept for state occasions.

  • State coaches
  • Australian State Coach
  • Diamond Jubilee State Coach
  • Glass Coach
  • Gold State Coach
  • Irish State Coach
  • Queen Alexandra's State Coach
  • Scottish State Coach
  • King Edward VII's Town Coach
  • Several landau carriages including: the 1902 State Landau, seven other state landaus, five semi-state landaus, and five Ascot landaus
  • Barouches and sociables
  • Broughams and clarences
  • Phaetons and victorias, including the Ivory Mounted Phaeton
  • Sporting carriages, including a rare curricle
  • Recreational vehicles, such as the Louis-Philippe charabanc
  • A variety of pony carriages, drags and exercise vehicles

In less regular use is Queen Victoria's state sledge, one of a number of royal sleighs in the Mews.

Also on display are some of the historic and immaculately kept liveries and harnesses (which see regular use), ranging from the plainer items used for exercising and working horses, to the ornamented state liveries and harnesses designed for use with the state coaches.

Motor vehicles

thumb|A 2002 [[Bentley State Limousine.]]

The maintenance and provision of modern motor vehicles is as much a part of the work of the Royal Mews as that of carriages and horses. Edward VII first established a garage in the Mews in the early years of the twentieth century.

The principal official cars are all painted in black over claret (known as Royal Claret). They are driven, cared for and maintained by a number of chauffeurs, who are based in the Mews and work under the head chauffeur (who, along with his deputy, is primarily responsible for driving the monarch).

  • Two 2012 Jaguar XJ limousines (number plates NGN 1 and NGN 2).
  • Three 2022 Range Rovers (number plates MYT1, MYT 2 and MYT 3).
  • The State Hearse commissioned for the funeral of Elizabeth II.

Land Rovers, luggage brakes and people carriers are also kept at the Royal Mews. A number of electric vehicles have been acquired since 2012, for various purposes, ranging from a BMW i3 and a BMW 7 Series hybrid to a Nissan van and a Renault Twizy.

The Royal Mews Department

The following chart shows the staff structure of the Royal Mews Department at the end of the twentieth century (when around fifty people lived and worked at the Mews). The position of Superintendent, which included oversight of the staff of the Mews, was abolished in 2000.

See also

  • Japan state carriages
  • Royal Stables (Denmark)
  • Royal Stables (Sweden)

Notes

References

  • Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, London. The Monarchy Today > Ceremony and symbol > Transport > Carriages.