As staunch monarchists, Australian eyes were glued to the TV on Saturday, May 6th for the royal coronation. After all the pomp and pageantry of King Charles III coronation, there’s one question that’s surely been on all of our lips: how much is that gold coach actually worth? Well, for a start, there were actually two gold coaches used in the coronation. For the coronation itself, King Charles III used the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which was designed in 2010 for his mother’s (Queen Elizabeth II’s) 80th birthday by Australian architect, W.J. Frecklington. Although not officially used until 2014 due to funding issues, this coach came to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, instead.

While its exact value is not known, the Diamond Jubilee State Coach is estimated to have cost over AU $5 million to build, with Frecklington having to mortgage his own home to finance the royal coach.

Featuring such extravagant materials as timber from historically significant buildings and 260 sapphires and 48 diamonds fitted into the door handles, no expense was spared. Then there is the Gold State Coach, used after the coronation itself, which was originally commissioned in 1760 for £7,562 and has been used for every royal coronation since William IV in 1830. Last used at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, the Gold State Coach is said to be worth between £2 and £2.5 million (or AU $3.7 – $4.7 million) today. But the value of these coaches is just a drop in the ocean compared to the overall value of the royal coronation, estimated to have cost taxpayers a whopping AU $90-180 million. Now, if it were only possible to see a return on our investment…

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