Queen Elizabeth II’s reign lasted 60 years and Land Rover was a part of that entire journey, from visits to Commonwealth nations to time with family at Windsor to rugged expeditions around Balmoral. The link between the two was on display last week at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

A total of 10 Royal-linked Defender and Range Rover models graced the show field, paying tribute to the late monarch. The vehicles are part of the royal household private collection, Land Rover Classic, The British Motor Museum and private collections.

This was the first time a collection such as this has been shown in the United States. Attendees at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 and the 2023 Goodwood Revival, both in England, were able to catch a glimpse at some of the models ahead of the California event.

Unlike the familiar Gold State Coach, which has been used by the British royal family in ceremony for over 260 years, the models on display at the auto show are noted to have been daily drivers, utilitarian getarounds, and practical parade solutions.

The Queen’s association with Land Rover began prior to her reign. Her father, King George VI’s was pictured climbing into a Rover in 1948 during a visit to the Wrest Park Institute, home of the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering. Elizabeth became queen in 1952.

Her ascension to the throne came nearly in parallel with Land Rover’s upgrade from the original Rover’s 80-inch wheelbase to an 86-inch wheelbase.

“The original 80 inch wheelbase vehicle is … a tiny little vehicle, you know, really, really small, really cool, really great off road. They’re so compact in line, but they’re not particularly practical from, you know, [from a] size point of view. You can’t put much into them,” Mike Bishop, Land Rover Classic’s spokesperson told Regalrumination.com.

Land Rover customers demanded more, and the new queen wanted customized Landies of her own, taking a personal interest. Arthur Goddard was the Land Rover program engineer at the time and the company has a photo of him handing the keys to a new vehicle over to Elizabeth during that era.

Making the State Review vehicles for a young queen presented a challenge to Land Rover engineers. “How do we make a Land Rover, state review vehicle, which is suitable for a younger woman in high heel shoes with a skirt on and all that? … The way it was used previously was [for] reviewing troops and, you know, people getting in the back of it with military things … swords and all that kind of regalia,” Bishop said.

To create the perfect design, Land Rover’s team asked the royal household for assistance. “The Queen and Prince Philip were very, you know, hands on about that at the time,” Bishop said.

The mission was to create a vehicle that was suitable for a younger woman who wore high heels and a skirt to greet the public, something the Land Rover team did not have to worry around when equipping George’s model.

From their first meeting, the takeaway was also that the queen wanted to be able to stand at the back of the vehicle, hold on, look around, wave and greet crowds. She wanted to be seen.

Land Rovers were, and are, designed to travel over rocky, uneven terrain. The queen’s Landie would need to do that as well.

The vehicles were commissioned and 10 were sent to Australia where the queen traveled in 1954. The 58-day tour saw them visit 57 towns during a post-coronation swing though all the major towns in the country via plane, train and automobile.

An estimated 75 percent of the population of Australian that was alive at the time saw the queen during her visit, often while she was riding in a Land Rover.

The ceremonial Landies featured a bar wrapped in a pad that the queen could rest against while on parade. It allowed her to get into the area, wave, and hold on. The padded bar also enabled resting and stability, giving Elizabeth the means to perch, avoiding the listing jostles that come from rough terrain.

Those 10 models were supposed to have been destroyed after the tour. Two used in Tasmania escaped the axe. One was on display at Pebble Beach.

The queen’s association with Land Rover continued from there with the models playing a role on her various estates. Bishop noted that the queen kept her models far past their average usable lifespan, with her SUVs providing decades of service.

“I think Her Majesty was one of those practical kind of people. She was, you know, more than happy if it was, if it was fine and, you know, it was great,” Bishop said.

Landies became less utilitarian with the introduction of the Range Rover in the 1970s. It became the new State Review model.

As generations progressed, the State Review models became more enclosed. Examples of those models were also on display.

Land Rover’s connection to the British royal family endures. In April 2024, Charles III granted JLR a royal warrant in his initial list of grantees.