Built in 1898 by the Hague firm of Hermans, the Crème Calèche was a gift from Queen Emma to her daughter Wilhelmina.
The Calèche is cream-coloured and decorated with gold oak leaves. It features two detachable groups of gilded female figures (the Graces) holding aloft a gold royal crown, a laurel wreath and a palm of victory. The Crème Calèche is drawn by six horses and driven by two postillions (mounted on the left horse of the leading pair and the left rear horse), as the Calèche has no coachman’s box.
Use
Queen Emma wished the coach to be reserved as far as possible for family occasions. The carriage was used at the investiture of Queen Juliana (1948), and during state visits, and by Prince Willem-Alexander at the opening of the World Equestrian Games in The Hague in 1994.