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Magazine Articles (non English)
Veteran Auto es Motor 2024 page VeteranMagazineAug24_5 | |
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However, care was taken to ensure that the colours inside and outside both vehicles matched, so that both were painted burgundy red with black roofs. The driver's seats were upholstered in blue and the passenger seats in grey.
The completion of the DS420 with chassis number 200970 and body number 2003 was personally inspected by the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, on 6 March 1987, with several photographs taken of this significant event. The handover took place on 30 June, after which the saloon was used mainly for short journeys for two months. The first longer journey took place on 30 August 1987, when the Welsh royal family drove to the Queen's summer residence, Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Prince Charles and Diana sat in the back seat, while their two sons, William and Harry, sat on the two folding seats behind the driver's seat, which, due to their size, looked as if they had been tailor-made for the boys. As the Queen herself occasionally rode in this car, this DS420 is one of the few royal cars in which three generations have travelled. The Queen, the then heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales and current King Charles III, and his wife and children, including the current Prince of Wales and future king.
Charles and Diana are known to have used the car on several occasions, as did the Queen, but most pictures show the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, getting in, getting out or waving from the window. The DS420 proved so successful that three more were purchased: one in 1988 and two from the last series in 1992. These replaced the 1987 Daimler Limousine, but it did not completely retire from service to the royal family. The Daimler was handed over to the Scottish company W.L. Sleigh in Edinburgh, where it continued to be used occasionally by members of the royal family.
Photo 1: Perhaps this also shows how spacious the interior is.
If you fold the middle seats forward, you can sit with your legs stretched out.
Mr Vanik is showing the photos in which Diana, Charles and the two boys,
as well as the Duchess of York, are using this very DS420.
Photo 2: Royal seating comfort? Almost.
Sofas of middle-class homes are not that
comfortable as the rear bench of the DS420.
Photo 3: Control console for rear passengers.
The temperature and airflow controls are located at the top,
the fan speed control is on the sloping surface,
and a light switch is located below the window controls.
Photo 4: The window next to the rear seat can be lowered or raised
using the central window control button. As this was expressly requested,
an analogue clock for the passenger compartment was also included in the order.
This is how the reading light works - when you fold it out,
it lights up - as demonstrated by the owner.
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