Throughout her life, the Queen has been pictured behind the wheel of a Land Rover. The royals’ cars were so special that a bespoke one even carried Prince Philip’s coffin when he died.
The couple’s enduring relationship with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles is “part of the DNA of the royal family,” said automotive journalist Quentin Williamson.
“These two iconic figures have chosen this iconic brand and the philosophical fit between the cars and the people is absolutely right.”
The company has owned Royal Warrants since 1951, after Land Rover was first granted by King George VI, who had tried out an early prototype.
“There was this really strong connection with Jaguars and Land Rovers and Rovers with the royal family,” Mr Willson said.
“This expert, hardworking, dependable, steadfast piece of engineering that worked really well and sent the right messages.”
Almost immediately after their coronation, the Queen and Prince Philip were spotted at royal engagements in specially converted Land Rovers, “and you could see it was a preference for them,” said Mr Willson.
The converted vehicles “probably had design input from Prince Philip,” he explained. “He was always very interested and enthusiastic about them.”
A fleet of bespoke Land Rovers, designed and manufactured in the West Midlands, were used to transport the couple on their six-month tour of the Commonwealth in 1953, which included Bermuda, Jamaica, Fiji and Australia.
One of them forms part of an exhibition of the Queen’s cars at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon in Warwickshire.
“Not only is it a beautiful vehicle, but it is also the vehicle in which many people first saw their Queen,” said Stephen Laing, the museum’s director of collections.
“It was created to accommodate the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh standing and greeting the crowd.
“My colleagues and I walk past these vehicles every day and we know they’re special because they’re the Queen’s cars, but over the past few days they’ve become more poignant because you have that strong association.
“You are an extremely important part of the history of the Queen’s association with the British motor industry.”
“All their lives you could see that these weren’t just ceremonial cars, they were the cars they drove themselves on the estates,” said Mr. Willson.
The Queen is regularly pictured in the cars, “and it was clear that she really, really loved them.”
‘They liked the cars and they liked the West Midlands,’ he explained, and they regularly visited the company’s factories at Browns Lane in Coventry and Solihull.
The former Top Gear presenter said he was lucky enough to test drive one of the Queen’s classic Rovers, a P5B, on loan to the British Motor Museum.
“I knew the Queen had this beautiful green one, it was her personal one that she carried around, made especially for her.
“A message was sent to the Royal Household and came back that the Queen would be delighted if you drove her old Rover,” said Mr Willson.
“So I got to take this car out onto the street and film it, it was just amazing.”
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021 aged 99, was working to create a bespoke hearse from a modified Land Rover to carry his coffin.
He began creating it in collaboration with JLR in 2003, modifying the open-topped rear section where his coffin rested.
He was also famously filmed picking up Barack and Michelle Obama in his Range Rover during their visit to Windsor in 2016.
Along with Jaguar, Land Rover was the only car manufacturer to hold all three Royal Warrants from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales.
The brand is “absolutely right” to reflect the Queen’s reign, Mr Williamson added.
“She made things long lasting, she wasn’t flashy, she kept them for a long time, that’s part of her character, she wasn’t wasteful.
“And I think that’s a great message that reflects her attitude towards her country and her role as a sovereign.”
In a statement, JLR said the Queen’s death had “deeply saddened” everyone at the company.
“Our relationship with the Queen fills everyone with great pride.”
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