Glass Coach replaces Golden Carriage on Budget Day this year

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will not be making the trip from the Noordeinde Palace, through The Hague and to the Binnenhof in the Golden Carriage this year. Instead the Royals will make their way to the King's Budget Day speech in the Glass Coach. The tradition of the Golden Carriage making the trip is being broken because the carriage is in for much needed repairs and renovations. This is expected to take several years. According to RTL Nieuws, the Glass Coach is the oldest royal coach the Netherlands has. it was built for King Willem I in 1826. The last tie it was officially used was in 1966, when Princess Beatrix married Claus van Amsberg. Queen Juliana, Prince Bernhard and Claus' mother used the Glass Coach, while the bride and groom used the Golden Carriage. The Glass Coach is obviously not made entirely of glass, but get its name from the glass cover that protects the ornaments border.