Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee: A young Her Majesty appears as a hologram

One of the biggest surprises of the Platinum Jubilee celebration was seeing a 26-year-old Queen Elizabeth II. This is how it came to life.

One of the biggest surprises of the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebration was the unexpected appearance of a 26-year-old Queen Elizabeth II riding in the ancient carriage she rode to her coronation 70-years ago.

The fresh faced Monarch waved at her British subjects just as she had on June 2 in 1953, riding in the same 260-year-old Coronation Gold State Coach – the third oldest in the UK – that hasn’t left Royal Mews since the Golden Jubilee in 2002.

“Initially we were all terrified of the Coach,” said Lizzie Pocock.

Ms Pocock is a producer at the London-based studio, Treatment, which is behind stage effects for performers like Elton John, The Weekend, Rolling Stone, Kanye West, Adele, and the 2012 London Olympics.

Studio co-founder Willie Williams told News Corp Australia they were contacted by Jubilee co-chair Nicholas Coleridge after it was decided the horse-drawn carriage would lead the pageant on the final day of the jubilee.

Hologram of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is projected on the Gold State Coach during the Platinum Pageant. Picture: AFP.

While their work with creating visual spectacles the world’s biggest events and concert tours led the Jubilee to come calling, Mr Williams said the combination of technology and history was an entirely new challenge.

The four-ton carriage is a rough ride, and with the Queen’s continued mobility issues, Buckingham Palace knew she wouldn’t be able to lead the parade through the streets of London as she did as a freshly-minted Queen.

Producer from Treatment Studio rigs the 260-year-old carriage to project a hologram of the Queen. Picture: Supplied.

Producer from Treatment Studio rigs the 260-year-old carriage to project a hologram of the Queen. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Coleridge wanted something “magical”.

At 24-feet long, the coach’s gold leaf over wood construction required an elaborate steel rig to be custom-built inside its fragile husk.

“The fear of damaging this priceless, irreplaceable object was overwhelming at first, but the Palace staff were all extremely helpful and went out of their way to put us at our ease,” Ms Pocock said.

a hologram of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is projected on the Gold State Coach during the Platinum Pageant in London. Picture: Getty

Video equipment was mounted to the steel framework to avoid damaging the antique red silk of the interior. They likened the coach’s tiny doors and small interior to assembling a hi-tech ship in a bottle.

A wireless set-up was added to control the hologram remotely, as there was no room for a technician inside the cabin after the custom framework was added. With the tech in place, the team needed to create the illusion based on footage from the Queen’s 1953 Coronation, which was shot on film with newsreel cameras.

“Very little of the original footage was suitable for what we needed,” said Willie Williams, Director at Treatment Studio, “so we had to create ‘new’ content of our own”.

BEFORE: The 260-year-old carriage rigged by Treatment Studio to project a hologram of the Queen. Picture: Supplied.

AFTER: The original golden coronation carriage with a hologram of the Queen is seen during the Platinum Pageant. Picture: Getty Images.

“By compositing and manipulating footage from multiple sources, we were able to create believable images of the young queen as she was at her coronation. Much of the original material was black and white, so this had to be painstakingly colourised.”

In the weeks leading up to the Jubilee, producers from Treatment Studio worked with Palace

BEFORE: Producers from Treatment Studio rig the 260-year-old carriage to project a hologram of the Queen. Picture: Supplied.

AFTER: The original golden coronation carriage with a hologram of the Queen is seen during the Platinum Pageant. Picture: Getty Images.

Conservators on protecting the coach, and rehearsed with the Queen’s Equerry – an eight-horse team – to test the ride of the kitted out carriage.

In the pre-dawn hours, the team left Royal Mews at 4am for a secret rehearsal around the full route of the Pageant.

The original golden coronation carriage with a hologram of the Queen is seen during the Platinum Pageant. Picture: Getty Images

The playback system projecting the hologram was conceived by Mike Smith, from Treatment, who said the custom system was developed with wireless playback over the internet as it travelled the route during the Platinum Jubilee Parade.

“After 300 years, the Gold State Coach has finally been fitted with on-board Wi-Fi,” Mr Smith joked.

Unexpecting royal fans were blown away by her hologram as the Gold State Coach lead the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

Royals including William, Kate, Charles and Camilla watched on as the gold carriage stunned onlookers. Prince Louis was spotted beaming as he saw his great-grandmother’s likeness waving back at him.

Originally published as Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee: A young Her Majesty appears as a hologram