Queen Elizabeth has reportedly given up her driver’s license – or in her case – has simply stopped driving. Following her husband Prince Philip’s decision to give up his own driver’s permit after a recent colliding incident, Her Majesty is following suit. According to The Sunday Times, the 92-year-old will no longer be driving on public roads and from now on will be chauffered at all times. Although it is royal protocol that the Queen be driven when she travels to public engagements, from time to time the British monarch herself has taken behind the wheel.
The 92-year-old monarch is following suit after her husband Prince Philip gave up his own license
The Sunday Times reports that she has agreed to stop driving, “on the advice of her security team.” However, because the Queen is the only individual in the U.K. who is allowed to drive without a license, she doesn’t have an actual license to turn in. As you may already know, Prince William and Prince Harry’s grandmother never had to take a driving test and does not have a license plate number on her car.
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On January 7, 97-year-old Prince Philip caused an accident while leaving the driveway of his Sandringham Estate in his Land Rover. Luckily he was left unharmed and only appeared to be “shocked and shaken” but the driver and passenger of the second vehicle suffered minor cuts and injuries. Shortly after the accident, the Duke of Edinburgh reached out to the driver, Emma Fairweather, with a note in which he expressed his sincere apology.
According to The Sunday Times, the Queen will no longer be driving on public roads
“As a crowd was beginning to gather, I was advised to return to Sandringham House by a local police officer,” he wrote. “I have since learned that you suffered a broken arm. I am deeply sorry about this injury. I wish you a speedy recovery from a very distressing experience.”
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Emma took the letter to heart and was pleasantly surprised by the retired royal’s attentiveness and personal touch of signing off as ‘Philip’ and not the formal title.