King Charles III, the reigning monarch of Britain, received a special gift – a mare – from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Named ‘Noble’, it’s a seven-year-old and stands at 16.2 hands high. According to the Royal Family, the mare “is currently settling into life at The Royal Mews in Windsor“.
Sharing the picture of Charles with his newly-gifted horse, the official social media of the family shared that Noble was chosen for her athletic ability and calm demeanour. She is also a veteran of the RCMP’s Musical Ride and has participated in 90 public performances in 50 locations in Canada.
“Bred and trained in Canada as part of the RCMP breeding programme in Pakenham, Ontario, Noble received her name through the RCMP’s annual ‘Name the Foal’ contest,” as per the royal family.
This, however, isn’t the first time a horse/mare has been gifted to the British monarch by the RCMP as this is part of a long-standing tradition. The RCMP, which took part in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 and has a long association with the Royal Family, has presented the late Queen with eight horses throughout her reign. The first of these was Burmese — gifted in 1969 — who Queen Elizabeth II rode at Trooping the Colour for 18 years.
The official website said that the relationship between the RCMP and The Royal Family dates back to 1904, when King Edward VII bestowed the title of Royal on the North-West Mounted Police, making it the Royal North-West Mounted Police. “Four members of the RCMP, riding horses they had gifted to The Queen, took part in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession in September 2022,” it added.
2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the RCMP.
Here are the other horses given to Queen Elizabeth II by RCMP:
*Centenial (gifted in 1973 to mark RCMP centenary)
*James (gifted in 1998 as part of RCMP 125th anniversary) The King as Prince of Wales regularly rode James for Trooping the Colour
*George (gifted in 2009 to mark 40th anniversary since Burmese) The King as Prince of Wales has ridden George for Trooping the Colour
*Elizabeth (gifted in 2012 to mark Diamond Jubilee)
*Sir John (gifted in 2016 to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday)
*Kluane and Darby (both gifted in 2019 to mark 80th anniversary of breeding programme and 50thanniversary of presentation of Burmese)
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