Skip to main content

Driving fit for a queen

The British queen is known as an enthusiastic driver, particularly for off-roading, but despite never having held a licence or sat a driving test. A legal anomaly means she has been able to drive without a licence although she did undergo training by the British Army when she served as a driver during WWII. Her off road driving skills are well known, particularly when at the wheel of her favoured Land Rovers. On one occasion during a formal visit by a previous Saudi king, he was surprised when she sat behin
December 14, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The British queen is known as an enthusiastic driver, particularly for off-roading, but despite never having held a licence or sat a driving test. A legal anomaly means she has been able to drive without a licence although she did undergo training by the British Army when she served as a driver during WWII. Her off road driving skills are well known, particularly when at the wheel of her favoured Land Rovers. On one occasion during a formal visit by a previous Saudi king, he was surprised when she sat behind the wheel of her Land Rover. Unused to being driven by a woman as females are forbidden to do so in his country, let alone a queen, he was perturbed at the pace she chose to drive at along the roads of the private estate. He repeatedly told his translator to ask her to slow down. They arrived at their destination unharmed but it is not known if he ever repeated the experience.

Related Content

  • Bag becomes weapon
    February 22, 2012
    A UK pensioner took on a gang of six masked and helmeted robbers attempting to smash their way into a jewellers to steal valuable items. The thieves drove up on scooters and used hammers to try and break the glass windows of the shop in a bid to take watches and jewellery. Passers-by watched in alarm as the robbers battered at the glass, however the female pensioner showed no fear as she sprinted towards the thieves and began hitting them with her handbag. At this, the thieves realised their plot had been f
  • Rebuilding the Human Dimension
    June 18, 2012
    We meet with Dr. Essam Sharaf, the former Prime Minister of Egypt, who has been honoured as IRF Personality of the Year for 2011 On 28 March, at a moving ceremony packed with IRF friends and delegates from all over the world, the IRF Personality of the Year Award for 2011 was formally presented to Dr. Essam Abdel-Aziz Sharaf. Discerned annually since 1951, the Award honours individuals universally acknowledged as having made particularly inspirational contributions to the fields of road infrastructure and
  • Daring duos?
    March 27, 2014
    In the US, a mother became her son’s partner in crime by acting as his getaway driver following a street robbery. After the son stole a pensioner’s wallet, the mother drove him away from the scene of the crime. The son did tell his mother what he had just done, as the not-so-daring duo drove away. The mother refused to let officers search their home, explaining that her son had thrown away the empty wallet, having spent the US$40 it had contained. The son was charged with robbery.
  • Former French president, Jacques Chirac, dies
    September 26, 2019
    The news that former French president, Jacques Chirac, has died aged 86 should be of note for those in the road safety sector. His political legacy is well known. Chirac was prime minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and again from 1986 to 1988, mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995 and finally president from 1995 to 2007. But his political reputation ended under a cloud following his suspended sentence on corruption charges. Perhaps less well widely known however is that Chirac had a tremendously beneficial e