Throughout the years, members of the royal family have been seen driving or riding in some of the most luxurious vehicles ever made. It's no surprise that the royal fleet of state cars includes a desirable assortment of modern and classic cars from Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Jaguar. These cars are usually registered with dateless registrations, although they do not bear number plates on the front or rear.
Queen Elizabeth II, who sadly passed away on September 8th, 2022, was known for her love of driving despite not actually needing a driving licence. During her reign, she owned private number plates MYT 1, MYT 2, and MYT 3, which are currently registered to Range Rovers. At her funeral, MYT 1 was seen on a Range Rover and is a playful nod to her British honours as the "Mighty One." The Queen also owned A 7, one of the first number plates seen on British roads, which was released by the London council in 1903.
The late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother also had an impressive collection of classic and iconic state cars, including a pair of Daimler DE 36s inherited from King George VI in 1952, registered with NLT 2. She bought a Daimler 'Royal Stock' DE 36 Straight-Eight landaulette in 1954, which was customarily re-registered as NLT 6 and served as her 'No.2 Royal Landaulette' for the rest of the decade. Her Daimler DK400 limousine was registered with NLT 1, and she also owned a Jaguar Mark VII M, later replaced with a long-wheelbase XJ12 model with the registration number NLT 7.
Prince Philip owned several interesting and memorable cars, including the Lagonda Drophead Coupe he bought in 1954, originally registered with OXR 1, which he kept until 1961, and a Land Rover Discovery registered with OXR 2. Princess Margaret ordered a customised silver Rolls Royce Wraith II registered with 3 GXM for public and private engagements. Princess Anne had the number plate 1 ANN, but it was given up for security purposes. The registration number is now worth £125k, and ANN 1 has a valuation of £200k today. Queen Alexandra received her late husband King Edward VII's 1907 Daimler shooting brake with the registration plate LD 4352 and regularly used a 1910 Landaulette with the number plate LB 7078. King George VI owned several Lanchester cars, purchasing two Daimlers that were rebadged as Lanchesters, painted black, and delivered with the registration plates JJ 4 and JJ 5.
With the coronation of King Charles III, he is likely to inherit all of the previous dateless number plates owned by Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother. As the monarch, he does not need to display a number plate, so we will never see these private registrations on any of his cars. The fleet of state cars will likely expand with more elegant vehicles, all with exclusive dateless registrations, in the future.