This gold inlaid State carriage might be the one to receive the honor of taking Prince William and Prince Harry to their weddings.

The state coach Britannia will be only the second carriage to join the Royal Family in the last 100 years.

The £620,000 carriage is a gift for the Queen from Australia whose new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a Republican, wants a referendum on the monarchy.

The designers claim that it has more gold than any other vehicle made in Britain for almost 200 years.
The carriage was commissioned by Mr Rudd’s predecessor John Howard and has taken two years to complete.

It was designed and built in Sydney by Jim Frecklington who learned his trade working in the Royal Mews. The project has been overseen by the Duke of Edinburgh, a renowned carriage driver.

The gold carriage incorporates a time capsule with elements of British history, including material from a Lancaster bomber. Other features include a metal from a musket ball from the Battle of Waterloo and wood from the Victory, which characterize the Royal Navy.

The carriage also has wood from cathedrals – St Paul’s, Canterbury, Wells and York and segments from Henry VIII’s flagship, the Mary Rose, the Mayflower, the Queen Mary and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Read entire story at the Telegraph…