The Royal Train Is Basically a Mobile Buckingham Palace

The royal train is actually broken down into an engine and a set of nine separate carriages — or saloons — that can be used in various configurations. The engine is not for sole royal use, and when it's not being utilized by the queen and her family, it is part of other private charters.

The saloons, however, are only used by the royal family. The queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, each have a saloon, and the other saloons are made up of a kitchen, a dining room, and staff quarters.

The engine and all saloons are painted in claret, and there is no one driver but a roster of around 150 of the most experienced and skilled drivers in the country who could take the controls.

The train runs on biofuel and, when not in use, is stored in a Victorian railway depot in Buckinghamshire.

The queen's saloon was created in 1977 to transport her and her husband during her Silver Jubilee Tour, which saw her travel the length and breadth of the country. It is 75 feet long, upholstered with the thick carpets, and hung with Scottish landscapes by the artist Roy Penny. Her majesty's bedroom has a 3-feet-wide bed with tartan-trimmed coverlet, a bedside cabinet, a wooden chair with a tartan seat cover, tartan drapes, and a Roberts Radio set to Radio 4. There is an adjoining bathroom and a sitting room where she works and where she and Prince Philip have breakfast.

Prince Philip's saloon contains his own separate bedroom with 3-feet-wide bed (there are no double beds on the royal train) and an en suite bathroom, although he has a shower rather than a bath in his. The sitting room is filled with chairs and a table where he can hold meetings, as well as a desk. His saloon also contains an electric kitchen, as he likes to travel as simply as possible. That way, when he's not traveling with the queen, he doesn't need to take the kitchen saloon — everything is contained in just his one carriage.

A small section of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's original railway line was once presented to Philip and is framed in his saloon, along with a blown-up version of his Senior Railcard, which was given to him when he became eligible in 1987.

The standard of food on the royal train is the same as that in any of the royal palaces and is taken care of by the Rail Gourmet company. For evening departures, the queen is served smoked salmon, warm sausage rolls, and chicken or egg sandwiches with the crusts removed. In the morning, she is served Earl Grey tea, while Prince Philip favors coffee.

Since the royal train is only used when there are a number of stops and a full set of engagements spread over several days, the dining room is used for entertaining on board. The table sits 12, and the place settings are laid out with the precision and attention to detail of a state banquet. Guests are welcomed on board with flutes of Champagne, Bucks Fizz, and chilled fruit juice.

Charles's bedroom has a painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia over the bed, and his en suite bathroom is painted blue. There is also an adjacent "brushing room," or dressing room, where his valet prepares the prince's clothes for the next day's engagements. The stationery in Charles's sitting room desk is personalized, and there are ink pens and a proper letter opener.

Camilla's saloon is pink, with Birdseye maple wood paneling to match that in her husband's saloon. There are blackout blinds and an adjacent dressing room.

Staff quarters are light, airy, and functional, with strip lighting and prints on the walls.

Before the current queen's saloons were created in 1977, her mother and father had their own set of carriages. King George VI's saloon was stylish, simple, and in a palette of neutral shades. During the war, the royal couple toured the country in order to keep morale high. The saloons were armor-plated and the train parked up in tunnels overnight for extra protection.

The Queen Mother's saloon had a similar understated feel to her husband's, but in her signature favorite shade of duck-egg blue. She too had a desk, and fresh flowers were often laid out.

The king's muted color scheme was also incorporated into his bedroom. George VI's and his wife's saloons are now exhibited in assorted railway museums around Britain.

George V and wife Queen Mary inherited their saloons from his father, Edward VII, and the redecoration was overseen by Queen Mary.

While her husband's saloon featured a green coverlet with pink drapes, Mary's featured a pink coverlet with cream-patterned drapes.

Edward VII commissioned an entirely new set of saloons when he became king, with electric fans, radiators, cookers, and an electric cigar lighter.

Edward's favorite room was the smoking room, which was manned by two footmen — one to light his cigars and the other to adjust the curtains and let in fresh air when required.

Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to have a royal train. Her saloons were things of luxury and extravagance with quilted ceilings, richly carpeted floors, and lavishly upholstered furniture in cobalt blue.