After the frightening car accident in January with Prince Philip behind the wheel, Queen Elizabeth has decided to stop driving on public roads, only getting behind the wheel on the grounds of her estates. When it comes to public roads, the monarch will rely on chauffeurs to drive her to her destinations and commitments.
The Telegraph says that several sources have incorrectly revealed that the queen would stop driving entirely or surrender her license, but both of these claims are being called “wide off the mark” by palace sources. Queen Elizabeth, 92, has said that she intends to stop driving on public roads, but will continue driving her Range Rover on the private roads of her various estates in England and Scotland.
The claim that the queen will surrender her license is absurd because she doesn’t have a driving permit and never has, according to The Telegraph .
“The Queen has never taken a test and is the only person in the UK who is legally allowed to drive without a license.”
The suggestion that Queen Elizabeth will not be driving anymore is “premature,” said a palace spokesman. Prince Philip, 97, voluntarily surrendered his license after he was involved in a collision on a public road in Norfolk, where two people were hurt, though not seriously.
Since WW2. Rather amusingly, when visited by a Saudi prince (a country where women are forbidden to drive), she freaked him out by driving him around Balmoral: https://t.co/j3kwyhcjfE
— Dominic Houghton (@Geek_Pride) March 31, 2019
Queen Elizabeth has been driving for over 70 years, having first learned as a teen during World War II when she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she trained as a driver and a mechanic, often working on jeeps.
Vanity Fair shared that the queen, “on the advice of her security team,” has decided to limit her driving to private roads around Windsor and Sandringham.
But while the queen has agreed to stop driving on public property, she is not ready to turn over the reins in terms of horseback riding, as previously reported by The Inquisitr . Queen Elizabeth was given her first pony 88 years ago by her grandfather, King George V, and has been riding ever since.
Weather permitting, the queen can be spotted at least once a week riding, often with her son, Prince Andrew, mounted on her favorite fell ponies. Queen Elizabeth has been involved in raising, breeding, and racing horses for most of her adulthood, and enjoys riding particularly in Windsor, Norfolk, and Scotland.
The queen used to ride often with Prince Philip before his hip replacement surgeries, but now he sticks to driving a horse-drawn carriage around the Windsor property.
