The four horses leadingQueen Elizabeth’s State Funeral on Monday have a special history with the British royal family.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has gifted eight horses to the Queen since 1969, according toRoyal CentralandThe Times of London.
These special horses helped lead the Queen’s coffin procession from Westminster Abbey during Monday’s funeral for Her Majesty.
“The horses are an unequivocally important part of that,” said Capt. Catherine Russell, the fleet’s ceremonial coordinator, according to theNew York Post. “We want to make her proud.”
BBC America
As Monarch of Canada,Queen Elizabethwas gifted her first horse from the Canadian Mounties, a coal black mare named Burmese, in 1969, according toThe Nationaland thePost.
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Her Majesty rode Burmese for 18 years at Trooping the Color, including the 1981 incident during which a spectator shot six blanks toward the queen, who maintained her composure while still riding her horse, per the reports.
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Like Burmese, the Queen’s four horses from the Mounted Police are trained for occasions like Monday’s funeral, where hundreds of people paid their final respects to the late monarch.
Sergeant Major Scott Williamson described leading the procession as an “incredibly humbling” feeling, perThe National.
When they are not at work, the four horse are kept at the Royal Mews, where the royal family keeps its state vehicles such as horse-drawn carriages and motor cars, per Royal Central.
Her Majesty was “closely involved with the welfare of the horses” she owned during her lifetime “for breeding, riding and racing,” per the family.
source: people.com
