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The 16th and 17th centuries mark the beginning of sustained diplomatic relations between Britain, the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean, and the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. On two occasions, the British Crown offered a coach as a diplomatic gift to these Muslim empires: to Ottoman Turkey in 1599, and to Mughal India in 1615. This massive and costly object, meant to showcase the skills of British craftsmen, ended up in the imperial harem on both occasions, first when it was gifted to Sultana Safiye, and then when the Mughal Emperor Jahangir offered it to his wife Nur Jahan. The comparative case studies developed here shed light on the relations between British ambassadors and women from the harem through the materiality of the coach. The reception and assimilation of the gift within the diplomatic space constituted by the imperial harem is examined through the lens of gender studies, diplomatic history, and material culture.