Two of The Duke of Edinburgh’s carriage horses have taken a special place in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle ahead of their former rider’s coffin passing through on its way to St. George’s Chapel.
Prince Philip, who helped popularise the sport of carriage driving upon his retirement from polo in the 1970s, was often seen in recent years on the grounds of Windsor Castle and Sandringham with his horses.
Today, two of his favourite horses, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm, will stand with Prince Philip’s four-wheeled carriage, and two of his grooms, as the Duke’s coffin processes upon a Land Rover hearse.
The Prince’s ponies were born in 2008; his carriage, a dark green polished carriage, was built to his exact specifications eight years ago. It features black leather padded seats and a clock that was presented to him by the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars in 1978 as a gift to mark 25 years as the Regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief. The carriage can harness eight horses and seat four people.
Prince Philip took up carriage driving at the age of 50 and helped popularise the sport—he even helped write the guidebook, and helped it achieve international prominence. In 1980, as part of the British team, he won the 1980 World Carriage Driving Championships. He would say, about retiring from polo and not wanting to stay on the sidelines as a spectator, “It then suddenly occurred to me that this carriage-driving might be just the sport.”
His daughter-in-law, the Countess of Wessex, recalled how Prince Philip would sometimes need to be pulled out of ditches while out with the carriage. It’s also a sporting passion shared by Sophie’s daughter, Lady Louise, who was spotted out with her grandfather’s horses earlier in the week.
