Queen Elizabeth will be ringing in her 93rd birthday this month with plans to give up driving on public roads. The decision came after long consideration stemming from Prince Philip’s 2-vehicle crash earlier this year, a new report suggests.
There is no official confirmation of this yet, but The Sunday Times reports that The Queen has finally decided to give up driving. She may still indulge in this hobby of hers while on private roads, but the rest of the time, she will be handing over all driving duties to her chauffeur.
Unlike Prince Philip, who voluntarily handed over his driver’s license some weeks after the January crash, The Queen will have nothing to hand over: she is the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a license.
That’s because, according to British law, all driving licenses are issued in her name, so she doesn’t need one. As a sovereign, she has discretionary powers that exclude her from the regulations and laws governing the roads. She never even had to take a driving test: she simply learned how to drive and continued doing it until now.
The Queen learned how to drive at 19 and even trained as an ambulance driver and a mechanic during World War II. Though protocol says she should be chauffeured around, until now, she was determined to drive herself whenever she could. Her beloved collection of cars include Jaguars and Land Rovers.
An anecdote from a book by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, revealed that The Queen had a genuine case of need for speed, too. “After lunch, the Queen had asked her royal guest whether he would like a tour of the estate,” Cowper-Coles wrote.
“To his surprise the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off… Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead,” Cowper-Coles added.
Unlike Prince Philip, who voluntarily handed over his driver’s license some weeks after the January crash, The Queen will have nothing to hand over: she is the only person in the UK allowed to drive without a license.
That’s because, according to British law, all driving licenses are issued in her name, so she doesn’t need one. As a sovereign, she has discretionary powers that exclude her from the regulations and laws governing the roads. She never even had to take a driving test: she simply learned how to drive and continued doing it until now.
The Queen learned how to drive at 19 and even trained as an ambulance driver and a mechanic during World War II. Though protocol says she should be chauffeured around, until now, she was determined to drive herself whenever she could. Her beloved collection of cars include Jaguars and Land Rovers.
An anecdote from a book by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, revealed that The Queen had a genuine case of need for speed, too. “After lunch, the Queen had asked her royal guest whether he would like a tour of the estate,” Cowper-Coles wrote.
“To his surprise the Queen climbed into the driving seat, turned the ignition and drove off… Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, let alone a queen. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince implored the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead,” Cowper-Coles added.