There was the monarch, all alone and in sunglasses and a headscarf, frolicking in the sun on the Windsor Castle grounds. What did you do Nothing special. Where did she go Just drive. Why? Well, it’s probably the only time she’s not within earshot of the security forces. It definitely beats “desk-based activities”.
The now 95-year-old Queen drove at least 77 of them. During World War II, at the age of 18, she enrolled in Aldershot for six weeks of training to become an honorary second subordinate in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service under the name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor and given service number 230873.
There she trained as a driver and mechanic and learned how to handle large military ambulances and other vehicles; and although she never really had to use those skills on the battlefield, she has been driving ever since.
Not that she has a license, you understand. Like not having cash with you or using premium postage stamps for identification to get into nightclubs, one of the many little quirks of being the queen is that she’s the only person in the country who doesn’t need a driver’s license or license plate to walk the streets unaccompanied. It would take a brave traffic cop to stop them anyway.
And she has a car collection that is believed to be worth tens of millions. When the Queen ascended the throne in 1952, she immediately inherited four Daimler DE 36 State Landaulettes that her father, King George VI, had bought in the late 1940s. At the time, she also owned a 1950 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, which the Daimlers (one of which she gave to her mother) overhauled to become the # 1 state car after a quick repaint.
During the 1950s, Daimler and Rolls-Royce argued quietly over who would become the dominant manufacturer in the Royal Mews, where the UK’s state and royal cars are kept.
Both made prototype sedans, but the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh chose the Spirit of Ecstasy. For the rest of the 20th century, all state cars were Rolls-Royce Phantoms before Bentley advanced in 2002 with its unique, Kevlar-reinforced state sedan, which could have cost as much as £ 10 million. Even the Queen Mother, whose husband was a staunch Daimler man, switched to a Phantom in 1962.
But state cars are for business, and the Queen doesn’t drive them (at least in public). In her personal life, however, she has owned dozens of vehicles and drives herself where she wants when it’s safe. It has been said that her favorite car over the years was the Vauxhall Cresta PA Friary Estate, which was purchased in 1961 and fitted with fishing rod holders, a dog guard, and a gun rack.
She also had Land Rovers including Series I, II and III, several Range Rovers, two Rover P5Bs, a 2001 Jaguar Daimler Super V8 LWB (complete with handbag holder), a Jaguar X-Type station wagon (the model she drove this week .)) and one of the first Bentley Bentaygas. Except for historic vehicles like the first state car, the 1900 Daimler Phaeton, and their royal fleet of cars.
Of course, the royal family is a clan of car enthusiasts. The Duke of Edinburgh, who only stopped driving after a prang with a citizen at the age of 97, had a penchant for sports cars. Prince Charles lets his beloved Aston Martin run exclusively with leftover sausage. William drives himself and his family around in a regal Range Rover, but prefers motorcycles and helicopters. Harry drove Meghan away from their wedding reception in a Jaguar E-Type, having previously bought a new F-Type for his 30th birthday. And Princess Diana had an XJ-SC – an upgrade from an Austin Mini Metro that she drove when she first connected to Charles.
All royals appreciate driving a car, and the Queen must cherish the freedom and anonymity behind the wheel more than most. No wonder that at the age of 95 with the recommendation to rest, she decided to relax by heading out. Some skills are worth staying sharp.
