Exactly how many notable personages have been conveyed in this one-off Silver Wraith II remains a mystery. Although, it is known to have hosted Paul Getty, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Lady Diana Spencer (before she married Prince Charles), HM The Queen and Queen Mary, The Queen Mother.

The car’s interior is bespoke with a false floor to the rear, the back seat squab mounted as low as possible (HRH was only 5ft 1in tall), enlarged C-post vanity mirrors, special small spotlights added to each rear cantrail, Green Cloth upholstery throughout (with a loose cover for the driver’s seat), and Black Nuella leather being used to clothe the top and bottom of the dashboard, centre console and door cards. The dashboard itself carried a Matt Rosewood veneer and did without a lock for the glovebox. The latter contained the switch for the roof-mounted Police Escort light and thus needed to be instantly accessible. A centre rear seatbelt was omitted as were armrests to the rear doors and Duchess straps (hardly fitting for a Princess).

H&H have had the privilege of offering several Royal cars over the years and it is not uncommon for them to be specified with similarly non-reflective interiors so as to make photographing their occupants easier (HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s 1954 Lagonda 3 Litre that fetched £340,000 in April 2016 eschewed wood in favour of Dark Green leather for its dashboard and door cappings). Such alterations are not motivated by pride but rather a consciousness that once in the public eye members of the Royal Family are very much on parade. To the exterior, HRH Princess Margaret ordered that chassis LRH0039342 should have opening front quarter lights and its side indicator repeater lights repositioned in the chrome swage line (rather than below it as was standard). The accompanying copy build sheets also note: ‘Silver Wraith II emblem on boot and RR badges on rear quarters are NOT REQUIRED’. The roof above the windscreen was modified to accommodate a detachable flag mast and illuminated shield.

HRH Princess Margaret gave Rolls-Royce less than five months to tailor the Silver Wraith II to her personal specification. Indeed, chassis LRH0039342 had originally been ordered in Moorland Green with Beige leather upholstery by J. Barrett Esq. via Jack Barclay Ltd before Crewe requisitioned it. To meet such a tight deadline many of the unique interior fittings were transferred across from HRH Princess Margaret’s former car, chassis LRH36157, and reconditioned accordingly. Finished in Cardinal Red, ‘3 GXM’ was delivered to Kensington Palace on 16th May 1980. A warranty card issued the same day lists the purchaser’s name correctly. However, all the way through the order process she had been referred to under the pseudonym ‘Mr Edgar’. No spendthrift, HRH Princess Margaret nevertheless kept her special order Rolls-Royce for twenty-two years; its last official journey being to convey family members to her funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on 15th February 2002.

Maintained by Rolls-Royce and subsequently entrusted to marque specialist Chris Lee, chassis LRH0039342 had covered 44,000 miles by the time that The Earl of Snowdon David Linley inherited it. Pilloried in the tabloid press at the time for selling off so important an heirloom, Snowdon has since told the vendor that he only did so after offering the car to the Royal Mews. A keen Royalist, Ronald Allwright became the Silver Wraith II’s first registered keeper when he bought it from marque specialist P&A Wood in June 2002.

The subject of a four-page article by Martin Buckley in the February 2016 issue of Classic & Sportscar magazine, chassis LRH0039342 was purchased by the seller from JD Classics shortly thereafter. Joining a significant private collection, it had a battery trickle charger / conditioner installed and underwent a thorough waxoyl treatment at a cost of some £4,554. Starting readily upon inspection, the Rolls-Royce has covered just two dozen miles since it was last serviced by Bentley Leicester on 3rd January 2018 at 47,336 miles.  

Keeping a car for twenty-two years is not typical of the Royal Family nor is personalising it to this degree. A very special, very important and low mileage Silver Wraith II which surely belongs in a museum. Offered for sale with copy build records, service invoices and a wealth of period photos.

HRH PRINCE CHARLES’ LOAN ASTON MARTIN FOR SALE WITH H&H CLASSICS

£260,000 - £300,000

1969 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage MK2

When mere mortals drop their car off for servicing they are often lucky to get a Ford Fiesta as a courtesy car, but for Prince Charles this stunning Aston Martin DB6 Vantage MK2 was brought to the forecourt when his own wheels were being sorted. It will be sold by H&H Classics on March 18th at the Imperial War Museum and is estimated to fetch £260,000 - £300,000.

A long-term member of the Aston Martin Owners’ Club, the vendor has attended numerous AMOC events over the years and has been told on more than one occasion that ‘LBH 100H’ was loaned to HRH, Charles The Prince of Wales when the latter’s DB6 MK2 Volante was being serviced (the car made even more famous by its usage at Prince William and Kate Middeton’s wedding). H&H contacted Aston Martin Heritage Trust Registrar Tim Cottingham about this scenario and he kindly replied as follows: ‘The green book entry for 4107/R says it was a Works Demo . . . It’s common to see ‘BH’ number plates on Works Cars . . . So it’s possible even probable that HRH would have driven the car at some point. You would never find proof but it’s believable I would say’.

According to its accompanying British Motor Industry Heritage Trust Certificate, chassis DB6/MK2/FI/4107/R was completed on 26th June 1969. A notably early right-hand drive MK2 – production of which started with chassis 4101/R – it was appropriated by Aston Martin Lagonda for use as a Works Demonstrator and appeared in various official press photographs. Finished in Dubonnet Rosso with Black leather upholstery, its desirable specification included a Vantage engine (number 400/4141/VC), power assisted steering, ZF five-speed manual gearbox and chrome wire wheels with three-eared spinners. Issued with the appropriate Buckinghamshire number plate ‘LBH 100H’ on August 1st 1969, the four-seater remained in Newport Pagnell’s care for over a year.

Copy factory build / service records on file indicate that (a) the car was converted from chassis 4039/R (a late MK1) and (b) served as something of a guinea pig for Aston Martin’s recently introduced AE Brico fuel injection system. The same paperwork records an engine overhaul and respray shortly before ‘LBH 100H’ was sold to Bradbury’s Garage Ltd of Kings Heath, Birmingham on 20th August 1970 with three months’ warranty. Returning to the Works the following October for attention to its troublesome Brico system at an indicated 28,342 miles, the MK2 belonged to C. Aston Esq. of Shrewsbury at the time. Advertised for sale by renowned dealer Brian Classic in February 1975, chassis 4107/R entered the current family ownership shortly thereafter.

Sparingly used over the last forty something years, the MK2 currently shows 83,400 miles to its odometer meaning it has covered a mere 600 or so since being extensively restored by Alec Slade (a former RS Williams employee) of marque specialist Excalibur Engineering during the early 2000s. As well as a bodywork refurbishment and respray in its original Dubonnet Rosso, work included the installation of a Harvey Bailey handling kit and thorough engine overhaul. Running on triple SU carburettors (as it has done throughout the vendor’s custodianship), the factory-fitted straight-six was enlarged to 4.2 litres. Still highly presentable, both underneath and on top, ‘LBH 100H’ pleasingly retains its original Black leather upholstery. Worthy of close inspection, this notably early, ‘matching’ numbers, DB6 MK2 Vantage is accompanied by a BMIHT Certificate, copy factory build / service records and restoration photographs / invoices.    

ORIGINALLY the property of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands

1938 Lagonda LG6 Drophead Coupe –  estimate £200,000 - £250,000

Originally the property of Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and known by subsequent keepers as 'Penelope' this stunning car featured extensively in the authoritative book 'Lagonda' by Bernd Holthusen.

It comes to auction with H&H Classics at Duxford Imperial War Museum on March 18 with an estimate of £200,000 to £250,000.

The drophead coupe was beautifully restored by the late Peter Whenman of Vintage Coachworks during 1992-1993 and is still highly presentable. The LG6 was invited to the 2016 Dutch Paleis Het Loo Concours d'Elegance where it won its class. The four-seater was also an award winner with the Lagonda Club in both 1959 and 2003!

“A very special Post Vintage Thoroughbred” says Damian Jones of H&H Classics.

The Lagonda was used by the vendor to learn how to drive whilst it belonged to his father from 1958-1962 and has been in the current ownership since 2002.

Prince Bernhard was the German-born consort to Holland's Queen Juliana. His life embraced triumph and scandal. Bernhard Leopold Frederik Everhard Julius Coert Karel Godfried Pieter, Prince of the Netherlands lived to be 93 from 1911 to 2004.

His life was full of drama, twists and turns. Having bought the LG6 new in 1938, he moved to England when Holland fell to the Nazis two years later. Volunteering his services to Allied Intelligence, he was vetted by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame and later flew various missions over Continental Europe under the assumed name of ‘Wing Commander Gibbs’. In 1944 he held the rank of commander-in-chief of the Dutch armed forces. Later it emerged that he had had early links to the Nazi party and in 1976 he was exposed for taking bribes in the global Lockheed scandal.

Juliana chose Bernhard as her future husband after meeting him at the winter Olympics in Bavaria in 1936 and they married the following year.

For 30 years, he travelled the world promoting the economic and cultural interests of the Netherlands, as well as his pet causes, setting up the Bilderberg Circle, a private forum for frank discussion of world issues by the west's great and good. He was also president of the World Wildlife Foundation and the International Equestrian Federation.

The Lagonda was used by Prince Bernhard while based in Britain during the war. A very keen car enthusiast he owned more than 60 cars in his lifetime, one of his favourites was a uniquely green 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast Speziale.

Prince Bernard arrived in the UK with the Dutch Royal Family in June 1940, right after the Germans invaded Holland in May 1940.

In 1940 he founded 'The Spifire Fund', a fund that acquired war equipment, that formed the basis of the now well-known Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, supporting cultural projects.

1940: Liaison officer between the Dutch and British armed forces.

1941: Honorary Air Commodore at the RAF

1943: Founder of 322 Dutch Squadron RAF, mainly escort flights, V1 interception and combat and ground attacks.