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you're listening to an article from horse canada.com. the rcmp’s royal role, plus a tribute to burmese by: kim izzo |. the historic visit of king charles iii and queen camilla to ottawa on may 27 to deliver the throne speech had the requisite pomp and circumstance befitting the british monarchy. and a large part of that pomp was the sight of the king and queen paraded in a box-driven landau pulled by a team of black horses along wellington street in the capital:. the landau was restored by a man in quebec and donated to the royal canadian mounted police (rcmp). the mounties had prepared for three weeks for this momentous occasion and according to ctv news likened it to their version of the stanley cup. advertisement scroll to continue with content sgt. jeremy dawson, a third-generation mountie, was given the honour of driving the carriage, which was escorted by 28 rcmp members – 14 horses and riders in front and 14 in back – as the king and queen were driven to parliament. this event marked the first time the carriage was used in a royal capacity. a few days before the arrival of the king, members of the 1969 rcmp musical ride gathered in regina, saskatchewan to celebrate his mother, queen elizabeth ii and one of her favourite horses, burmese, the black mare gifted to the monarch in 1969. the stunning horse would carry her majesty through two decades of pomp and pageantry including 18 trooping the colour parades. the horse-loving queen was also aboard burmese during a botched assassination attempt when blanks were fired at her. “there were various members who probably rode burmese a little bit before we knew she was going to be the horse presented to the queen,” mike fitzgerald, a member of the 1969 rcmp musical ride told ctv news. the partnership between the queen and burmese lasted until the horse retired in 1986. the monarch chose not to replace the mare afterwards. when burmese passed away in 1990, the queen had her buried on the grounds of windsor park. to further commemorate the bond she shared with the animal, the queen gifted a handcrafted rocking horse dedicated to burmese to the rcmp as part of her 90th birthday celebration. there is also a bronze statue of burmese and the queen in regina that her majesty unveiled during an official visit in 2005. it would seem that no matter who occupies the throne, the british monarchy history with horses will continue.
