A BROKEN-down Land Rover which was rusting away in a garage has been revealed to have a special connection to the Queen.
The current owner purchased the 4×4 from the royal estate in 1966 and stored it in a garage where it fell into disrepair.
The Land Rover had fallen into disrepair having been stored in a garage
The Queen had the Land Rover shipped to Balmoral in 1953
It’s thought King Charles had a hand in restoring the vehicle to its former
It was originally built in late 1953 and the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II had the Land Rover shipped to Balmoral on July 3, 1953.
It was registered on the Royal number sequence NXN 1 in early 1954.
The vehicle was exclusively used by Their Majesties Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother with Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh and King Charles, then a prince, until 1966 when it was purchased and re-registered.
It has now been put up for auction and is expected to fetch as much as £150,000 when it goes under the hammer on February 23, 2023 at Stoneleigh Park.
The special Land Rover has a production chassis number but is considered a pre-production build.
Its unique features include doors, body, roof, bumpers and twin rear doors, among others.
Rob Hubbard, sales director of Silverstone Auctions, said: “It’s not often that a vehicle with such impressive Royal provenance like this is offered publicly for sale.
“It’s special features and Royal connections make it exceptionally interesting.
“This Land Rover would doubtless have been used extensively on the Balmoral estate where we know the Royals loved to picnic.
“It would have been a familiar and much-loved part of Her Majesty and Prince Philip’s private lives.”
King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, is rumoured to have recognised the unique Land Rover and as a gift funded and encouraged its exacting restoration.
The vehicle was also featured on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow also led the Land Rover parade at the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant last year.
Silverstone Auctions was also behind the sale of Princess Diana’s black Ford Escort RS Turbo which sold for a world record price of £730,000.
The unique Land Rover has been fully restored
The Land Rover featured in the Queen’s Platinum Pageeant
