AFFAIRS OF STATE
It’s 70 years since Britain gained a new Queen, with the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne in 1952. As the monarch who has presided over the UK’s modern era, cars as a means of regal transport have played a far greater role in her reign than with any of her predecessors. And the marques most associated with Elizabeth and others in her family are Rolls-Royce and, more recently, Bentley – something that had undoubtedly done the image of the two companies as paradigms of British prestige, luxury and craftsmanship absolutely no harm whatsoever. But how did the long-standing association begin? Originally, Royal patronage was reserved for some of their rivals instead.
Although the automobile was born during the late-Victorian era, there is no record of Queen Victoria ever having been amused by one. It was with her son, Edward, Prince of Wales – later to become Edward VII upon the death of his mother in 1901 – that the Royal interest in motoring began. He was far more fascinated by all things mechanical and technical and although his reign spanned less than a decade, it marked a significant spread in the use of machinery throughout the nation. Edward first encountered a car during 1896 while visiting the Exhibition of Motors in Kensington, London, but it was only when that most famous of aristocratic motoring enthusiasts, Lord Montagu of Beaulie took him out for a drive in his Daimle 12hp during 1899 that Edward’s spark was ignited. He ordered a Daimler of his own the following year, which was followed by a
