Queen Elizabeth II – Love of Land Rovers

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II has left everybody deeply saddened, and our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family at this time.  

As the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Head of the Commonwealth, Patron of more than 600 charities as well as a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, The Queen was a remarkable role model.  Throughout the Queens life she was often photographed behind the wheel of a national favourite, the Land Rover.

Earlier this year, the well-established motor trade industry manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) also played a huge role in Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, making their mark once again on her historic and extraordinary reign.  

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said in a recent statement, ‘their relationship with The Queen had been a source of great pride for all of us’.

These vehicles were so special to some of the royal family, in 2016, The Duke of Edinburgh was famously filmed collecting Barack and Michelle Obama in his Range Rover during their UK visit to Windsor.

Some may remember, a bespoke car even carried Prince Philip’s coffin when he passed away. The Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99 in April 2021, he had worked on creating a bespoke hearse from a modified Land Rover to carry his own coffin. He began creating it in collaboration with JLR back in 2003, modifying the open top rear section where his coffin rested.

The company JLR has held Royal Warrants since 1951, after it was first granted to Land Rover by King George VI who had driven a very early prototype. Along with Jaguar, Land Rover was the only automotive manufacturer to hold all three Royal Warrants from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales.

JLR were truly grateful for their long-standing and continued connection with the Royal Family and said they will deeply miss Her Majesty’s pioneering leadership and strength that provided continuity, stability, and inspiration through decades of enormous social change.  

This enduring relationship with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles was well known throughout the motor trade industry, it was iconic; ‘almost part of the Royal Family’s DNA’, said motoring journalist Quentin Willson.

Almost immediately after her Coronation, the Queen and Prince Philip were spotted doing royal engagements in converted Land Rovers. The converted vehicles “probably had Prince Philip’s design input,” he explained. “He was always really interested and keen on them.”

The former Top Gear presenter said he had been lucky enough to test drive one of the Queen’s classic Rovers, a P5B on loan to the British Motor Museum.

Mr Willson said the cars reflected the Queen’s 70-year reign. The brand was “absolutely right” to reflect the Queen’s reign, he added. “She made things last, she wasn’t flash, she kept them for a long time, that’s part of her character, she wasn’t wasteful. “And I think that’s a great message, and it reflects her attitude to her country and her role as a sovereign.”