Queen Elizabeth II is 92-years-old and quite the handy woman with practical motoring skills.
She served in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II, after begging her father King George VI to let her join. She became a trained mechanic with no qualms about changing a spark plug or doing a routine oil change.
Known at the time as “Elizabeth Windsor,” she also became a competent truck driver. The Queen is now the only person exempt from carrying a driver’s licence while driving anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Coming from a time before seatbelts were factory fitted in cars, the Queen has been accused of not wearing her seatbelt while driving her Range Rover near Sandringham Estate. However, photos published by local media show the Queen wears a seatbelt while driving.
She had been staying at Sandringham Estate with her husband Prince Philip, 97, who refused to stop driving after surviving a horrific January car accident at Norfolk that he walked away from without serious injury.
The driver of the other vehicle was a 28-year-old woman with a 45-year old female passenger and a 9-month-old baby. The adults suffered minor injuries.
Norfolk police said in a media statement the accident is being investigated and “appropriate action will be taken”. Head of the roads policing team Chris Spinks confirmed the prince will not receive any “favouritism” in the investigation.
A palace spokesperson said the prince had visited hospital for a check-up and suffered “no injuries of concern,” and occupants of the other vehicle had already been contacted to extend “well-wishes”.
Pictures in UK media show the prince has received a replacement Range Rover Freelander and already started driving alone across the estate.
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