The design of the new state hearse for Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was approved by the UK’s longest-serving monarch herself.
Jaguar Land Rover collaborated with the royal household and consulted the late monarch on the plans for the vehicle, Buckingham Palace said.
The vehicle was used for the first time on Tuesday to take the queen’s coffin to Buckingham Palace after arriving from Edinburgh.
Mourners lining the route had a clear view of the queen’s coffin, thanks to its glass roof and wide side windows.
The vehicle’s three interior spotlights shone brightly in the gloomy London evening as they illuminated the coffin draped in a royal standard with a wreath of Balmoral blooms.
The new state hearse is finished in royal claret, the same colour as other official royal and state vehicles.
It will be used again on Monday to take the queen from Westminster Abbey to Windsor for a committal service in St George’s Chapel at 4pm.
Prince Philip's hearse
The casket carrying Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, was driven to St George’s Chapel in a modified Land Rover, after he said he did not want a fuss made over his funeral.
"Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor," he reportedly said.
The vehicle was designed with the input of the Duke of Edinburgh himself.
Modifications he made included an open top rear section to rest the coffin in and the military green colour.
He began working on the design with Land Rover in 2003, 16 years before his death.
The duke served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War and requested that the original Belize Green bodywork be switched to Dark Bronze Green, which was used for many military Land Rovers.
The open top rear section where the coffin rested was also made to his specifications. They included rubber grips on silver metal pins to prevent the coffin from moving.
The vehicle had matching green wheel hubs, a black front grille and a single cab. There were no registration plates.
The vehicle, a Defender TF5 130, was made in Solihull at Land Rover’s factory in the town.
The made the final adjustments in 2019, the year he turned 98.
The duke was a huge fan of Land Rovers and the royal family owned many of them over the years.
His coffin was adorned with his naval cap, sword, a flag that represented his Greek and Danish heritage, and a spray of flowers chosen by the queen.
Boris Johnson, who was British prime minister at the time, said the vehicle, with its "unique and idiosyncratic silhouette", perfectly summed up the kind of person Prince Philip was.
“He was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional, whether a machine or indeed a great national institution, and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th and the 21st century," he said.
American royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith called the Land Rover a "stroke of genius".
"It is so much in his character ― he used to drive around Sandringham in an electric van in the '80s," she told USA Today.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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