King Charles meets the black mare named Noble, a horse gifted to him by the RCMP, at the Royal Mews in Windsor on March 11.-
The Royal Family has announced the latest addition to Buckingham Palace: a black mare named Noble that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has gifted King Charles ahead of his coronation in May.
The seven-year-old mare is a veteran of the RCMP’s musical ride and has participated in 90 public performances in 50 different locations in Canada, the Royal Family said in a statement, adding that the horse is settling well into its new home at the Royal Mews in Windsor, England.
The RCMP said Noble will be presented to the King at a ceremony, the details of which will be released at a later date.
“As we mark our organization’s 150th anniversary this year, and look ahead to the coronation of our new monarch in the spring, it seems only fitting that we mark these dual milestones with the gift of Noble to His Majesty King Charles III this year,” said RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki.
The RCMP said King Charles personally requested a horse from the musical ride to eventually be his new charger horse when his current horse, George, retires.
Noble, however, “was selected as the ideal horse for His Majesty because of her size and ability. Her calm demeanour allows her to thrive in the sometimes raucous atmosphere of exciting public events,” the Royal Family said in a statement.
The King has been the RCMP’s honorary commissioner since 2012, and visited the musical ride in May of last year on a tour of Canada alongside Queen Consort, Camilla, during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
The relationship between the RCMP and the Royal Family preludes the musical ride, however. It 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.
Queen Elizabeth II received eight horses from the RCMP during her reign – four of them took part in her funeral procession.
The first of these was Burmese in 1969, who the Queen rode at Trooping the Colour – which marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign – for 18 years. The next was Centenial, who was gifted to Queen Elizabeth in 1973, to mark the RCMP centenary.
James was gifted in 1998 as part of the RCMP’s 125th anniversary, while George, the King’s charger horse was presented to the Queen in 2009.
In 2012, the RCMP gifted the Queen a horse with her namesake, Elizabeth, to mark her Diamond Jubilee, while Sir John was gifted in 2016 to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday. The last two horses gifted to the Queen were Kluane and Darby in 2019.