LONDON — Kate Middleton will arrive for her marriage to Prince William in the royal car that made global headlines when it was attacked by student protesters — but she will leave in the horse-drawn carriage used by her new husband’s parents on their own wedding day, Sky News reported Tuesday.
The high-top Rolls-Royce was damaged when Prince Charles — William’s father — and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, were caught up in violent student protests in December.
The car, which was presented to the Queen for her Silver Jubilee, is now being refurbished and requires specialist paint restoration and glass work. Buckingham Palace said it should be ready in time to carry Middleton to the service in Westminster Abbey on April 29, as the damage caused in December was not extensive and repairs are purely aesthetic.
After the service, for the trip from the abbey to Buckingham Palace, Middleton will travel in a state horse-drawn Landau carriage — a move thought to represent her elevation from commoner to royalty.
Resplendent in scarlet and gold, it is the same open-topped carriage used by Charles and the late Princess Diana on their wedding day in 1981 and for the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of York in 1986.
It was made in 1902 for King Edward VII, who wanted something bigger and better than anything Queen Victoria had, and is the largest carriage in the Royal collection.
Prince Harry and the bridesmaids will travel in a plainer Landau, behind his brother’s vehicle. Maid-of-honor, Middleton’s sister Pippa, will be in an identical carriage with the page boys.
A second procession led by the Queen, in a carriage pulled by gray horses, will make for quite a sight along the route, which is expected to be lined by tens of thousands of well-wishers.
Although Middleton’s immediate family and senior royals will benefit from the unique and historical royal fleet on the day, both engine- and equine-powered, all the other guests will have to endure a much more humble form of transport.
Minibuses will be used to ferry foreign heads of state and junior royals from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.