The late Queen Elizabeth’s bespoke Jaguar Daimler which was specially modified for her handbag and has James Bond-style buttons is up for auction for £60,000.
The monarch owned and drove the stylish British racing green vehicle from brand new between 2001 and 2006, clocking up thousands of miles in it.
Personal touches for Her Majesty included a special handbag holding tray built into the armrest between the two front seats.
It also has security and convoy lights operated by a ‘James Bond-esque’ bank of control buttons.
The automatic drive vehicle, with a V8 engine capable of reaching 149mph, has travelled just 16,200 miles in 23 years – and less than 1,400 since leaving royal use.
Bonhams Cars, of London, have put up for auction a bespoke Jaguar Daimler driven by the late Queen Elizabeth II between 2001 and 2006
The car was specially designed to include a tray to hold her handbag, built into the armrest between the vehicle’s two front seats
It also boasts a James Bond-style bank of control buttons including security and convoy lights
The Queen was seen leaving Windsor Castle in the Daimler to visit the Royal Chapel in November 2002
The ‘elegant and luxurious’ interior contains of catkin beige leather with a green carpet.
The 2001 Daimler Majestic 4.0 V8 LWB was also driven by the Queen’s husband Prince Philip before being returned to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust in 2007.
They sold it in 2013 to a private collector, who has kept it in a ‘pristine’ condition in a heated garage.
The seller – based in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland – is now offering it up through auctioneers Bonhams Cars, of London, who say it is a ‘rare’ opportunity to acquire a vehicle driven by the Queen, who died aged 96 in September 2022.
She was known to be a keen driver following her time as a driver and mechanic in the Women’s Auxillary Territorial Service during the Second World War when she was taught how to handle heavy vehicles and maintain the fleet.
She was the only person in the UK who could legally drive without a licence and without even taking a driving test.
Lord Cameron, former Prime Minister and now Foreign Secretary, gave an insight into the Queen’s driving when describing in 2019 how she once took him at ‘breakneck speeds’ around the Balmoral estate.
He told The Times’ Red Box podcast: ‘You get into a car, sort of seven o’clock at night, often driven by the Queen herself, driven at breakneck speed up on to the moor.’
Princess Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1944. She was taught how to drive heavy Army vehicles and how to maintain the fleet
The late Queen, pictured here in the car alongside her husband Prince Philip, drove the Daimler which is now up for auction between 2001 and 2006
The Duke of Edinburgh was pictured driving the Daimler out of Windsor Castle in April 2002
The automatic drive vehicle now up for sale has a V8 engine capable of reaching 149mph
The Jaguar Daimler has travelled just 16,200 miles in its 23 years
The car has been given a starting price of £60,000 in the online sale ending on April 29
Auctioneers have hailed the sale as a ‘rare’ opportunity to acquire a vehicle driven by the Queen, who died aged 96 in September 2022
The car was also driven by the Queen’s husband Prince Philip before being returned to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust in 2007
The car loving monarch was watched driving a Daimler saloon in 1957 with her children Prince Charles and Princess Anne in the passenger seats
She was spotted at the wheel of a Range Rover, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Dame Annabel Whitehead for the second day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2021
She also drove another Jaguar Daimler to the Credit Suisse Royal Windsor Cup Final in Egham, Surrey, in June 2007, alongside her police protection officer Carol Quirk
The car’s extras for the Queen also included a secure telephone link to Downing Street and the Home Office, which is no longer in use.
A Bonhams Cars spokesperson said: ‘Her Majesty preferred shades of dark green to adorn her vehicles, thus British Racing Green was chosen, with the overall appearance kept similar to other Daimler Majestic LWB examples except for the security lights which still function as intended.
‘It has just 16,200 miles from new and less than 1,400 since leaving the royal fleet.
‘In the current ownership, the car has been kept in a heated garage as part of a fantastic private collection.’
David Hayhow, consignment specialist at Bonhams Cars, added: ‘This represents a very rare opportunity to own a vehicle that Her Majesty Queen Eizabeth II personally drove.
‘It retains nearly all its royal options, including the tray specially designed to hold Her Majesty’s handbag, and the flashing blue convoy lights discreetly hidden across the car.
‘Royal vehicles are offered very infrequently so, when they do come to market, they are highly sought after.
‘We are delighted to be offering this special Daimler without reserve, so it will be selling from the very first bid.’
The online sale ends on April 29, with Bonhams saying they expect it to go for between £35,000 and £60,000.
Then-Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret are pictured here playing in a miniature automobile while their governess Marion Crawford keeps an eye on them in 1930
Queen Elizabeth was seen at the wheel of a 1961 Vauxhall PA Cresta Friary Estate as she drove Prince Andrew to the Windsor Horse Trials in April 1968
Sellers say a British-based private collector who bought this Jaguar Daimler in 2013 has kept it in a ‘pristine’ condition in a heated garage
The car comes in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s preferred colour of racing green
The motor has added less than 1,400 miles to the clock since leaving the royal fleet
The car’s extras for the Queen also included a secure telephone link to Downing Street and the Home Office, which is no longer in use
Another luxury car that used to be one of the Queen’s personal vehicles – with a rear seat adapted for her corgi dogs – sold for £80,500 in October 2019.
The Daimler Double Six saloon was delivered new to Buckingham Palace in 1984 after being given a 3,000-mile road test by engineers.
Other cars she owned included a Land Rover Defender and a Jaguar X-Type Estate in a shade of green called Emerald Fire.
She also had a Mulsanne limousine, built by Bentley in 2012 as a special gift for her Diamond Jubilee tour of Britain, in which she travelled to her only Cabinet Meeting at 10 Downing Street that same year.
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