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During the dark days of the Second World War, Queen Elizabeth drove ambulances in the transport corps of the British Army.
In those days, big trucks didn't have automatic transmissions, or power™anything. So, driving one of those big ambulances took considerable skill.
After the war, she continued to drive herself, preferring to save the big limousines for State occasions.
One of her personal cars was the 1984 Daimler Double-Six LWB™which is an even more upmarket version of the Jaguar XJ12.
Chassis # 393721 was built in July of 1984, at the Jaguar plant in Coventry England. The car had every available option, plus a few modifications. The Queen requested a full length rear seat cushion, instead of the usual twin-cushion™to more comfortably accommodate her three Corgi dogs.
Other special features included a blue 'convoy' light, which was fitted behind the rear view mirror. This light was used so that security teams could easily identify the car at night, or during a threatening situation.
In addition to the convoy light, the fog lights on the front of the Daimler were wired to flash at regular intervals, when the car was being driven by the Queen.
As the reigning Queen of England, Her Majesty is immune to ordinary traffic laws. She can go where she wants, however she chooses to get there. But, she's always been a very considerate driver, and most people would just let her by when they saw the flashing lights.
The Daimler Double-Six also had the latest in communications equipment, which meant the Queen always had a direct line to her office, and the Prime Minister.
This car served as Queen Elizabeth's personal vehicle from 1984-1987. During that time, she put 12,000 miles on it. She used the car to travel to her winter retreat in Balmoral Scotland. But, the car was mostly used around London, and Windsor Estate.
Notable passengers in the Double-Six included, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, the Queen Mother, and Margaret Thatcher.
The car has always been titled to Jaguar VIP leasing, and all maintenance was performed at the factory. Interestingly enough, Jaguar engineers put 2-3k miles on the car, before they delivered it to Buckingham Palace. They wanted to make sure that ALL of the kinks had been worked out, before the Queen took possession.
That's a good thing, considering those cars were hideously unreliable.
The Daimler Double-Six was returned to the factory in 1991, where it still gets regular use at important events. To date, the car has racked up 41,000 miles.
The red tape has been cleared, and the car will be auctioned at No Reserve this August. RM Auctions has been commissioned to sell the car during the famed Pebble Beach event in Monterey California.
The buyer will receive a set of number plates with the original Royal number, as used by the Queen, several photographs of Her Majesty driving the car, all handbooks and documents, all tools, keys, and an official stamped Heritage certificate from the Jaguar factory.
Now that's a "Royal" deal!
