Fit For A Queen & Her Mother, The 1953 Land Rover Supplied To Balmoral Castle Going For Sale
Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal 1953 Land Rover she used at her Balmoral Estate is going for sale. The 86″ wheelbase first generation car was built in 1953 and first registered in early 1954 wearing the number NXN 1. This was the 11th Land Rover from that year which is a historically interesting vehicle in its own right. The royal provenance makes it even more so.
In obviously immaculate condition, this Land Rover is practically as good as the day it was received by Queen Elizabeth II. The Production series car is unusual as it has a pre-production chassis and is considered to be a pre-production build according to the records.
There are a few unique features of course. Doors, body, roof bumpers and the twin rear doors are just a few of the non-standard things you’ll find.
The Land Rover was delivered to the Queen through Stratstone London on the 3rd of July 1953. She immediately had the car shipped to Balmoral to be used on the extensive estate and was used exclusively by the Queen, the Queen Mother and HRH Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles) until 1966 when it was bought by the current vendor. At the time the car was re-registered to LXC 984D who was from the neighbouring Ballater.
Sometime after being purchased, the Land rover was stored in the family garage for quite some time before Prince Charles is said to have recognised the unique car. As a gift, he had it completely restored to the condition it was supplied to his mother in.
The then Prince looks to be very happy with the result in the image captured at the restoration completion.
Rob Hubbard Sales Director of Silverstone Auctions, comments: “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.”
This Land Rover is quite probably the most photographed worldwide and has been a feature of the BBC TV programme Antiques Roadshow. And was a part of the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant last year which saw a TV audience in the millions.
If you want to see the car it will be at the Silverstone auctions Race Retro sale at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on the 25th February. You can see more and register to bid at www.silverstoneauctions.com. There are some more interesting vehicles for sale there too, not just with a motorsport connection.
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