Daredevil drives were an escape from court life
IN AUGUST 1947, three months before his November wedding to the world’s most eligible princess, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN took delivery of a red two-seater MG TC.
It was to be his pride and joy, and driving the prized machine at speed around the roads – the narrower the better – was to become one of his escapes from the restrictions of the court life that were about to engulf him.
His princess was not so keen on her fiance’s love of speed.
On one occasion, on a mad dash from HMS Royal Arthur at Corsham in Wiltshire to London, Prince Philip skidded into a tree, damaging a fence and his car, twisting his knee in the process.
An indignant press naturally asked the question: “What would have happened if the princess had been with him?”
And later, when he managed to side-swipe a taxi, with the princess in the car, the criticism increased.
Philip has always been a daredevil and a highly competitive sportsman.
His naturally impatient nature and somewhat Germanic determination meant that as long as he was able to do so, he would run everywhere, take steps three at a time, and wait for no one.
Philip was attracted to daredevil sports, not for the sake of it but because he enjoyed the competition of trying and often succeeding beating everyone else and doing it at super speed.
The prince has always loved fast cars and, from the original red sports car he had when he romanced the princess in the 40s, he upgraded to his MG TC and then an Aston Martin and a Lagonda 3-litre coupe, which had a top speed of 104mph.
With so much of his life taken up with sporting activities, and once a full diary of public engagements, Philip has always relished the time he has to himself. He still does. Driving around the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on some mission or other, he likes to be in control of his own vehicle as he likes to be in control of his life.
It will remain to be seen if Philip will now take the advice of his family and give up his beloved driving.
But if he is forced to do so, he will do it with the same determination as he has done everything in his life. He will, in his own words, “Just get on with it.” ■■Ingrid Seward’s latest book, My Husband & I: The Inside Story of 70 Years of the Royal Marriage, is published by Simon & Schuster