Prince Philip was a World War II veteran, holder of many awards, and known for his charity work. But he was also a motorist, and a passionate one at that. In the literal sense of the word, he drove everything that moved.
Prince Philip was the grandson of King George I of Greece, but at an early age his family moved to Paris, and he himself was sent to London. It was in Britain that the future Duke of Edinburgh became interested in cars and at the age of 18 bought himself an MG roadster.
By the way, this car helped win Elizabeth's heart – Philip took her for a thrilling ride around London. But then the war began, and he had to operate completely different machinery: Philip was a naval officer and served on the battleships "Valiant" and "Ramillies."
The wedding of Philip and Elizabeth took place on November 20, 1947, and the couple rode through London in a luxurious carriage. It was also used on the occasion of Elizabeth II's coronation in 1952. The royal family still uses ceremonial carriages for formal events to this day.
Of course, the royal garage has plenty of luxurious Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, as well as a whole staff of drivers. However, Prince Philip preferred to get behind the wheel himself and chose sports cars – British ones, naturally. So, in 1954, a 140-horsepower Lagonda 3 Litre convertible was built especially for him.
The Duke of Edinburgh loved this car and often took it with him during visits. He preferred to drive his wife and children himself. Although Elizabeth II also loves to drive. By the way, for trips to hard-to-reach corners, the royal family was provided with specially prepared Land Rovers.
After the Lagonda came an Alvis TD21 convertible. In addition, Prince Philip never refused the opportunity to test this or that car. He got behind the wheel of the Jaguar XKSS sports car and the racing Aston Martin DBR1, the miniature Fiat 500, and even a double-decker bus.
The Prince often visited various auto shows, and in 2016 he even gave a ride to US President Barack Obama. Several times the Duke of Edinburgh was involved in accidents: the last one occurred in 2019 when he was driving a Range Rover.
In general, in recent years the royal family actively used the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery and Freelander, as well as the Jaguar XJ. The total value of the royal fleet is 10 million pounds sterling.
Its pearl is a pair of specially created 6.2-meter Bentley State Limousines. These armored cars were built in 2002 on the basis of the Bentley Arnage and are equipped with a 400-horsepower V8 twin-turbo. It is in these cars that the royal couple was usually seen during official events.
