A Land Rover King Charles III owned is being auctioned.
He was heir to the throne when the Land Rover Defender pulled up at his Highgrove House home in November 2010.
As befits a royal model it has some extras, like heated seats for a comfy ride, and it currently carries a 72 HRH number plate (that is not included in the sale).
Otherwise, the workhorse four-by-four could easily be seen on any farm in the UK, with its Keswick-green finish and familiar boxy shape.
But a letter addressed to Tim Williams, the now-King’s head chauffeur, makes it clear that this was a very special delivery.
And auctioneers Iconic Auctions reckon the King was the vehicle’s main driver. They reason that the barely-worn passenger seat reveal that only one person sat behind the wheel.
Heated seats, of course, and the sellers believe the King did most of the driving of this classic vehicle. Image courtesy of Iconic Auctions.
Charles earns the title “fastidious owner” as the car goes into sale in March with a £42,000 to £50,000 estimate.
It has over 24,000 miles on the clock.
A new Land Rover Defender has a base price of £56,000 these days.
And one of this vintage can be found for around the £30,000 mark.
Add a special owner though…
The two most valuable vintage Land Rovers were owned, respectively, by The Duke of Edinburgh and Winston Churchill.
Churchill was given his Land Rover as an 80th birthday gift.
The Duke’s was also a 2010 model, and it realised £123,750 in 2023.
Churchill’s vehicle was a 1954-made car given to him for his 80th birthday and substantially remodelled to make it a truly bespoke item. It sold for £129,000 in 2012.
The most valuable ever Land Rover Defender was also a special model. The 2 millionth one off the production line was auctioned for £400,000 at a charity auction in 2015.
Land Rovers are closely linked to the British military and also the Royal Family. The company was founded in 1948 and already had a Royal Warrant by 1951.
This Defender will be auctioned by Iconic at the NEC, Birmingham on March 25.
