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Royalty

Queen Elizabeth II

Monarch of the United Kingdom · United Kingdom · 1926–2022

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Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II — Donald McKague · Public domain

Elizabeth II was that rare head of state who drove herself. Trained as a mechanic and driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War, she kept driving Land Rovers around Balmoral and Sandringham into her nineties, famously without a licence — the document is issued in the monarch's own name. The official fleet was a different matter: Rolls-Royce Phantom IVs built only for royalty, Daimler limousines, and the Bentley State Limousine commissioned for her Golden Jubilee.

The cars

A Land Rover Defender (One Ten) — an example of the model
A Land Rover Defender (One Ten) — an example of the model — OSX · Public domain
Land Rover logo

Land Rover

Drove Land Rovers herself at Balmoral and Sandringham for decades

See the Defender (One Ten) →
The Bentley State Limousine built for the Golden Jubilee
The Bentley State Limousine built for the Golden Jubilee — S. Foskett · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bentley logo

Bentley2002

The Bentley State Limousine, built as a Golden Jubilee gift

A Rolls-Royce Phantom IV — an example of the model
A Rolls-Royce Phantom IV — an example of the model — Usien · CC BY-SA 3.0
Rolls-Royce logo

Rolls-Royce1950

Phantom IV — only 18 built, reserved for royalty and heads of state

A Daimler DS420 — an example of the model
A Daimler DS420 — an example of the model — Dave Hitchborne · CC BY-SA 2.0
Daimler logo

Daimler

Daimler limousines served the royal household for much of the 20th century

See the DS420 →
A Vauxhall Velox of the late 1940s — an example of the period
A Vauxhall Velox of the late 1940s — an example of the period — Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Vauxhall logo

Vauxhall

Learned to drive on wartime vehicles as a mechanic in the ATS

Restricted to vehicles documented in public record — museum holdings, published auctions, official fleets and the owner's own public statements. Speculative or unverified claims are excluded.

More royalty

King Charles III

Monarch of the United Kingdom

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