From 1900 To The Present Day: The Cars Of The British Monarchy

The cars of our Monarchy have always been stylish

, secure and befitting of the Royal Family's status. From the first car of the fleet, bought in 1900 for Edward VII, to the newest additions to the Royal collection - the two Bentley's presented to Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 - we have taken a look at some of the stand-out models.

1900 - Daimler Phaeton

Daimler was the first car maker to have their cars used by the Royal Family. Prince Edward (who was crowned as King in 1902) was so enamoured with his purchase of his first motor car, the Daimler Phaeton, that he quickly purchased two more. The original car was discovered in a junkyard in 1924 and went on to have multiple owners, before finally being fully restored by the Royal Motor Museum in Sandringham where it is now displayed [1].

1950 - Queen Elizabeth's first Rolls Royce, the Phantom IV

In 1950, Daimler's monopoly on the Royal Family came to an end. Engineers at Rolls Royce carefully built the Phantom IV by hand at a factory in Belper, to ensure their superior quality over Daimler. The car was initially painted Valentine green but was repainted in the Royal colours of claret red and black 1952 when Elizabeth became Queen. The car is still in fine condition and stood the test of time. Remarkably, it still remains in service in Her Majesty's fleet [2].

1970 - The Queen Mother's DS420 Daimler

The Queen Mother owned several DS420's throughout her long life, the first of which was in 1970. She had a hand in some of the finer details of each cars design, requesting a "rear cushion softer than standard", whilst her unique mascot of Britannia atop the Globe adorned the front of the carriage.

1988 - A miniature Aston Martin for Prince William and Harry

In 1988 the two young Princes' were given a miniature Aston Martin which was built to exactly half the scale of a regular Aston Martin. It is now on display at the museum Sandringham, along with other vehicles of interest [3].

2002 - Two Bentley's gifted to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee

The latest additions to The Queen's fleet of state cars are two Bentley's which were given to Her Majesty to mark the anniversary of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Unlike the other vehicles in the fleet, the Bentley's were custom made to The Queen's unique requirements, with the Duke of Edinburgh and the Head Chauffeur also contributing to the design [4].

[1] Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (2010). 1900 Daimler 6HP Mail Phaeton Royal Car. http://www.jdht.com/html/Trust/jdht_collection/1900Mail.html

[2] Pigott, P. (2005). Royal Transport: an inside look into the history of Royal travel. Dundurn Press. Retrieved from: http://books.google.co.uk

[3] Royal.gov (2010). Cars. http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Transport/Cars.aspx

[4] Darkforce (2007). The Royal Fleet. http://www.darkforce.com/royce/royal.htm

by: Hannah Warder

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