Eight huge Windsor grey horses were responsible for pulling King Charles III's carriage on Saturday, May 6, including one called Milford Haven. The name Windsor Grey is given to grey horses which are used by royalty and they are the breed typically used in ceremonial processions such as the coronation.
The horses chosen to pull the carriage carrying the King and his wife after the service at Westminster Abbey were named Icon, Shadow, Milford Haven, Newark, Echo, Knightsbridge, Meg, and Tyrone. As well as pulling the Gold State Coach after the coronation has taken place all of the horses except for Meg and Newark also pulled the Diamond Jubilee state coach, which carried Their Majesties from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey ahead of the service.
Photographs of each horse were shared to the Royal Family's official Instagram account along with the year each was born. Milford Haven was born in 2009.
Read more: Live coronation updates as King Charles officially crowned alongside Queen Camilla
The regal horse was also used in the royal procession for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018. At the time Philip Barnard-Brown, senior voachman to the Queen and who rode Milford Haven for the procession, told ITV News he was a “special horse”.
He said: “He normally has a lead position because he’s a very quiet horse and you’ll naturally try and put your quietest horses in the lead. Because it’s going to be a very busy day and very noisy we always choose our safest, most reliable horses. We tend to go for the older horses that have been around and done it before and we know are reliable.”
Built in 1762 the Gold State Coach has been used on every Coronation Day since the 1800s. Queen Elizabeth II used the same carriage at her coronation and the Windor Greys which were used in this instance were called Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary, and McCreery.
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