There the monarch was, entirely alone and wearing shades and a headscarf, pootling around the Windsor Castle grounds in the sun. What was she doing? Nothing in particular. Where was she going? Just out for a drive. Why? Well, it’s probably the only time she’s not within earshot of security guards. It definitely beats “desk-based activities”, anyway.

Now 95 years old, the Queen has been driving for at least 77 of them. In the Second World War, aged 18, she enrolled on a six-week training course in Aldershot to become an honorary second subaltern in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, signing up under the name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, and receiving the service number 230873.

There she trained as a driver and mechanic, learning to handle large military ambulances and other vehicles; and though she never quite needed to use those skills in the field of battle, she’s been driving ever since.

Not that she has a licence, you understand. Like not carrying cash or using first class stamps as ID to get into nightclubs, one of the many little quirks of being the Queen is that she is the only person in the country who doesn’t require a driving licence or number plates to hit the roads unaccompanied. It would take a brave traffic officer to pull her over, anyway.

And it’s some car collection she has, thought to be worth tens of millions. When the Queen succeeded to the throne in 1952, she instantly inherited four Daimler DE 36 state Landaulettes, which her father, King George VI, had bought in the late 1940s. At the time she also owned a 1950 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, which then leapfrogged the Daimlers (one of which she gifted to her mother) to become the No.1 state car, after a quick respray. 

Throughout the 1950s, Daimler and Rolls-Royce quietly tussled over who would become the dominant manufacturer in the Royal Mews, where the state and Royal cars of the United Kingdom are kept. 

Both made prototype limousines, but the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh plumped for the Spirit of Ecstasy. For the rest of the 20th century, all state cars were Rolls-Royce Phantoms, before Bentley encroached in 2002 with its unique, Kevlar-reinforced state limousine that may have cost as much as £10 million. Even the Queen Mother, whose husband had been a staunch Daimler man, switched to a Phantom in 1962.

But state cars are for business, and the Queen doesn’t drive them (in public, at least). In her private life, however, she has owned dozens of vehicles and drives herself wherever she likes, assuming it is secure. It has been said that her favourite car over the years was the Vauxhall Cresta PA Friary Estate, bought in 1961 and spec’d to include fishing rod holders, a dog guard and a gun rack.

She’s also had Land Rovers, including Series I, II and III, several Range Rovers, two Rover P5Bs, a 2001 Jaguar Daimler Super V8 LWB (complete with handbag holder), a Jaguar X-Type Estate (the model she was driving this week), and one of the first Bentley Bentaygas. And those are aside from historical vehicles, such as the first ever state car, the 1900 Daimler Phaeton, and her fleet of Royal coaches. 

Of course, the Royal family are a clan of motoring enthusiasts. The Duke of Edinburgh, who only stopped driving at 97 after a prang involving a member of the public, had a penchant for sports cars. Prince Charles has his beloved Aston Martin powered exclusively by charcuterie leftovers. William drives himself and his family all over the place in a royal Range Rover, but prefers motorbikes and helicopters. Harry drove Meghan away from their wedding reception in a Jaguar E-Type, having previously bought a new F-Type for his 30th birthday. And Princess Diana had an XJ-SC – upgrading from an Austin Mini Metro, which she drove when first linked to Charles. 

All the Royals value driving, and the Queen must value the freedom and anonymity of being behind the wheel more than most. No wonder, aged 95 and advised to rest, she chose to relax by hitting the road. Some skills are worth keeping sharp.