HER Majesty the Queen doesn’t ever need to get behind the wheel of a car, let alone have a driving licence to do so.
But while she’s exempt from needing a pink licence to use the road – and despite having enough staff to chauffeur her around as required – the British monarch is a qualified driver and regularly drives herself around.
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One of the many perks of the job is that Queen Elizabeth II does not need a licence or any number plates to drive legally.
It would be a brave copper to stop her even if she did.
But thanks to her military career during World War Two, when she joined the Auxilliary Territorial Corps (ATC) as a mechanic and driver, she earned her licence anyway.
It’s possible that this early exposure to basic military vehicles is what started the Queen’s love affair with that most British of vehicles, the Land Rover.
Land Rovers
The Queen is thought to have owned around 30 Land Rovers over the course of her reign, ranging from old-fashioned Series Land Rovers up to the “modern” Defender.
The Defender went out of production in 2016 and was replaced a year ago with a newer and more advanced car of the same name.
The most famous of these was the 2002 Defender that Land Rover built her specially.
Mechanically very basic and a bit unrefined by today’s standards, a Defender two decades ago was no luxury car.
But Land Rover added some tweaks fit for a Queen, with non-standard leather seats and an enormous V8 petrol engine.
Range Rover LWB Landaulet
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The Range Rover remains one of Britain’s greatest contributions to the automotive world.
The Queen’s personal ‘Rangey’ is bigger and arguably better than a standard Range Rover, which is already one of the most capable vehicles you can buy.
The LWB – or long wheelbase – Landaulet is a stretched, open-top version of the iconic car used for state processions and any occasion on which the queen wants to wave at her subjects.
Bentley Bentayga
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The Bentayga is one of Bentley’s most popular models to date.
Introduced in 2015, it was one of the many luxury SUVs being launched at around that time.
And Queen Elizabeth II was the recipient of the very first example.
It was a fitting gesture by then-CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer to acknowledge the brand’s British heritage.
Tens of thousands of Bentaygas have now been sold.
Bentley State Limousines
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Two much more exclusive Bentleys are parked in the Royal Mews ready for service.
These are the official state cars of Great Britain, and were built for the Queen at her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Modified from the Arnarge, they’re longer and taller than the vanilla model, and boast matching claret and black paint jobs.
They also have armoured bodywork and puncture-resistant tyres, as well as blue flashing lights.
Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB
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No car history would be complete without a Jag.
The Queen’s personal Jag was an unusual vehicle for a head of state, in that it was always meant to be driven by her rather than a servant.
The car features several modifications, such as vents designed to ventilate the vehicle without blowing air directly onto the monarch’s face – a bugbear of hers, apparently.
It also had a sliding holder designed to accommodate the Queen’s particular style of handbag.
Gold State Coach
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Perhaps the most exclusive vehicle in the world – and certainly one of the oldest still in use – is the Gold State Coach.
Commissioned in 1760 during the reign of King George III, it gets wheeled out only occasionally.
It’s too large and cumbersome to be of more frequent use. At 7.3m long and 3.7m high, it’s as big as a truck.
It’s also apparently very uncomfortable thanks to its crude leather suspension. The Queen has stated that she dislikes riding in it.
Its wheels were only rubberised by King George VI, almost two centuries after it was built.
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