The Queen was last night to take her first ride in the Diamond Jubilee state coach, parts of which were Kiwi-made.
The coach - in which the Queen was to ride to the opening of Britain's Parliament - is described as a "mobile time capsule" because it contains relics from the past, including wood from the HMS Victory and a piece of Sir Edmund Hillary's Everest ladder.
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The Diamond Jubilee State Coach built for Queen Elizabeth II.
The gold-plated door handles, made by Kiwi master jeweller Michael Baker, each contain 130 sapphires and 24 diamonds.