Originally registered under registration number 'NXN 1', the 1953 Land Rover Series I was dispatched to Stratstone in London on July 3, 1953. Queen Elizabeth II then had the car transported to the Scottish Balmoral Estate in 1954, where it was used exclusively by the Monarch, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother and the current King Charles. The vehicle is estimated to fetch £100,000-150,000 when it goes up for auction at Silverstone Auctions as part of the Race Retro Classic and Competition Car Sale on February 25.
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In 1966, the Land Rover was sold to its current owner in nearby Ballater, a short distance from Balmoral, re-registered under registration number LXC 894D and kept locked up in a family garage for a number of years. Silverstone Auctions, responsible for the sale, reported that Prince Charles then took care to finance and encourage the restoration of the vehicle, after noticing the poor condition it was in after a long period of disuse.
The precious Rover boasts a number of unique features and was used, among others, at Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee last June. Given the millions of television audiences that watched the event, this is probably one of the most photographed Land Rovers in the world.
The most recent car sold by Silverstone Auctions was Princess Diana's black Ford Escort RS Turbo, which fetched a world record price of over £722,000.
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"It’s not often that a vehicle with such impressive Royal provenance like this is offered publicly for sale," said Rob Hubbard, Sales Director at Silverstone Auctions. "Its special features and Royal connections make it exceptionally interesting. This Land Rover would doubtless have been used extensively on the Balmoral estate where we know the Royals loved to picnic. It would have been a familiar and much-loved part of Her Majesty and Prince Philip’s private lives."
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Queen Elizabeth had a real passion for cars and drove whenever she could. When she was still a young princess, she was trained as a mechanic and driver in the Women's Auxiliary Service during World War II and also learned to change tires and tune engines.
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The Queen was often photographed behind the wheel of a Land Rover at her Balmoral estate, and this type of vehicle has always been a favorite with royalty. It was a Land Rover, specially built following the instructions of Prince Philip himself, that transported the latter's coffin during his funeral.
