Photo: Twitter / Carly Ledbetter
Perhaps the second-most-famous association between a British carmaker and public figure, after Aston Martin and James Bond, is the relationship between Jaguar Land Rover and the Royal Family. That decades-old partnership has just received a massive dose of cuteness.
Land Rover is Queen Elizabeth’s (and was late Prince Phillip’s) carmaker of choice. The Queen occasionally indulges in Bentley or Rolls-Royce, but Land Rover holds a very special place in her heart. As a result, the carmaker isn’t just building custom vehicles fit for royalty (literally), but also takes part in Royal-backed events and charities.
One such event is the Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry, HRH the Duke of Sussex, as a means to offer veterans their own version of the Olympic Games. This year’s edition is taking place between April 16 and April 22 in The Hague, Netherlands, with the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex serving as hosts. The event includes a Land Rover Challenge, which was prefaced by the cutest kiddie race you’ll likely to see all week.
Video from said race is included below. The cuteness factor is upped by the fact that the Duke and Duchess each jumped in separate rides and, sat in the passenger seat, offered guidance and pep-talk to the young drivers. The cars in question were electric Land Rover Defenders, and the one carrying Prince Harry actually did a bit of offroading, if you're not very strict about the definition of the term.
After the heart-warming segment, Prince Harry rode as passenger in an adult-size Defender, for the adult version of the Challenge. Footage from both segments of the Challenge is included at the bottom of the page.
Given the Sussexes’ controversial exit from the Royal Family in 2020, their latest public appearance is again fueling debates and comparisons to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. The mini-Defender race, for one, has drawn sharp comparisons to the “colonialist” imagery evoked by the Cambridges’ ride in the vintage Land Rover the Queen had used in her 1953 Jamaica tour, during their disastrous 3-day tour of the Caribbean.
One such event is the Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry, HRH the Duke of Sussex, as a means to offer veterans their own version of the Olympic Games. This year’s edition is taking place between April 16 and April 22 in The Hague, Netherlands, with the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex serving as hosts. The event includes a Land Rover Challenge, which was prefaced by the cutest kiddie race you’ll likely to see all week.
Video from said race is included below. The cuteness factor is upped by the fact that the Duke and Duchess each jumped in separate rides and, sat in the passenger seat, offered guidance and pep-talk to the young drivers. The cars in question were electric Land Rover Defenders, and the one carrying Prince Harry actually did a bit of offroading, if you're not very strict about the definition of the term.
After the heart-warming segment, Prince Harry rode as passenger in an adult-size Defender, for the adult version of the Challenge. Footage from both segments of the Challenge is included at the bottom of the page.
Given the Sussexes’ controversial exit from the Royal Family in 2020, their latest public appearance is again fueling debates and comparisons to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. The mini-Defender race, for one, has drawn sharp comparisons to the “colonialist” imagery evoked by the Cambridges’ ride in the vintage Land Rover the Queen had used in her 1953 Jamaica tour, during their disastrous 3-day tour of the Caribbean.
— Tiphaine (@miajlt) April 16, 2022
Prince Harry rode shotgun with a #TeamUK competitor to experience the course for himself (twice!) before France were awarded the first gold medal of #IG22???? pic.twitter.com/4UEaI4doRW
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) April 16, 2022
Inspired by a comment on https://t.co/MLGWRU7Yc8 pic.twitter.com/kBKbbZQoMn
— Kaiser@Celebitchy (@KaiseratCB) April 16, 2022
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