Australians for Constitutional Monarchy

The State Coach Britannia was created by by W.J. "Jim" Frecklington O.A.M, who was also the builder of Queen Elizabeth's Australian State Coach  presented to Her Majesty on the occasion of the Australian Bicentennial in 1988.  


The State Coach Britannia has been in the news recently. You may hear ACM’s Executive Director Jai Martinkovits discussing this with 2GB’s Ben Fordam (Part 1 and Part 2), and Professor David Flint with 3AW’s Derryn Hinch ( Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)

Mr Frecklington is in discussions concerning its delivery to London with a view to it taking pride of place among the vehicles of State at Buckingham Palace.

...innovations...

[ Her Majesty and the much used 1988 Australian State Coach]

The new State Coach Britannia incorporates many modern innovations, and while traditional in basic design, is designed to carry British Monarchs and Heads of State in comfort and style for centuries to come. In addition the vehicle is a unique time capsule of British Heritage containing materials from many historic buildings, ships and institutions including Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, from whose timbers OH Boyd carved the gold crown on the roof. This extraordinary collection has authenticated links to over 100 of the most influential characters in British history, her greatest victories, her most treasured places, and her greatest contributions to the world.

...concept...




The original vision was to create a State Coach that would encapsulate the History and Heritage of Great Britain. This has been achieved by incorporating timber from many of Britain’s Historic Buildings, Ships and other Artefacts, some of which date back to 1800BC in the design.

For example the Crown that adorns the roof has been carved from timber taken from Lord Nelson’s flagship, the HMS Victory. Inlaid into the wooden interior panels of the State Coach Britannia is an extraordinary collection of precious artefacts including a fragment of The Stone of Scone , a segment of Newton's apple tree, a similar segment from Shakespeares mulberry tree and a segment of oak gear teeth made by John Harrison, the carpenter who in 1726 invented and made the world's first marine chronometer are illustrative of the inclusions. Timber segments from The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle, Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, the Mayflower, Balmoral Castle, Hampton Court, Holyrood Palace, Kensington Palace, Osborne House, St Georges Chapel, The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), 10 Downing Street, The Royal Pavilion - Brighton and many other historic buildings ships and vehicles are inlaid into the interior.

Also included is material taken from the Ferriby Boats (1800BC), a segment of material donated by the Canadian Government from the Franklin expedition 1845, the former RMY Britannia, HMS Endeavour, The Battle of Hastings, RMS Queen Mary, RMS Olympic, SS Great Britain, RSS Discovery, an original counterweight from Big Ben, a Battle of Britain Spitfire and Hurricane, a "Dambusters" Lancaster, part of a musketball from Waterloo,as well as segments related to Charles Darwin, Edward Jenner, Joseph Banks and other famous scientists.

A current list of materials is available here A number of important items are pending verification and authentication. For further details, go to this excellent site on the Britannia.



...news...

As mentioned above, the State Coach Britannia has been in the news recently. You may hear ACM’s Executive Director Jai Martinkovits discussing this with 2GB’s Ben Fordam (Part 1 and Part 2), and Professor David Flint with 3AW’s Derryn Hinch ( Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)