In case you think that Prince Harry is the only scoundrel in the royal family, it turns out that Princess Anne used yesterday's big royal news to bury the story that her daughter just happened to lose her driver's license.
Zara Tindall, granddaughter of the Queen, was driving 91 mph in a 70 mph zone when she was caught and pulled over. This traffic incident added four points to her license, and it turns out that Zara had already racked up nine points. This put her over the threshold of 12, which means automatic suspension of your driver's license.
The sentence isn't too harsh, and Zara will get her license back in six months. In the meantime, she can probably hang out with Grandpa Philip and her mom and swap driving stories (because we all know the two of them have got them). In addition to losing her license, Zara will have to pay a fine of approximately $1,070.
This isn't the first time Zara has had, um, "issues" when it comes to driving, and it's totally possible she gets her speedy driving from her mother! In 2001, Princess Anne was caught going 93 mph on the exact same road Zara was speeding on yesterday. When the police tried to pull Anne over, she thought they were part of a royal escort and just kept on going.
Funnily, that wasn't even the first time Princess Anne has been caught speeding down the road. According to the Guardian, "Princess Anne was given a written warning for speeding on the M1 in 1972, and fined £40 for doing 96mph on the same road five years later. In 1990 she was fined £150 and banned from driving for a month after pleading guilty to two speeding offences before magistrates at Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire."
Prince Philip was also notoriously involved in a car crash in early 2019 and even had to give up his license. It was surprising to many that 97-year-old was even still on the road, but Philip has a long history of driving incidents.
Back in 1996, the prince was involved in a crash that landed Norfolk businessman Patrick Daynes in a neck brace with whiplash. Prince Philip apparently drove his Land Rover into the back of Patrick's Mercedes because Patrick was stopped at a pedestrian crossing.
Patrick Daynes said, "It was about 8.45am and I was on my way to a couple of appointments in London. It's a route I know well and I haven't been involved in any similar accidents. I noticed that I was being followed by a rather smart Range Rover, but at the time had no idea that Prince Philip was driving."
He continued, "I stopped at a pedestrian crossing to let a lady cross the road and suddenly there was an almighty bang. My car jolted forward and I knew immediately that it had been seriously damaged. It was then that I noticed through my rear-view mirror that it was the Duke of Edinburgh who had been driving. It was quite a surprise."
A local to Norfolk, Sue Brown, also described another incident that involved Prince Philip. "Many years ago, my uncle had a similar incident around the same area. Prince Philip pulled out in front of him but my uncle was able to stop in time. It was not until both drivers got out of their cars that my uncle realised he was shouting at the Prince, telling him to be more careful."
And a man named Nicholas claims the prince got into a traffic accident with him in 1987. "It was the second or third week of August in 1987 at around 6 o'clock. I was driving north on the A93 between Blairgowrie and Spittal of Glenshee and he came down the road, driving right down the middle of the road, chatting to ex-King Constantine of Greece. He wasn't concentrating."
Nicholas continued, "He crossed the white line and came right at us. Me and my passenger thought that our last seconds had come. I had to swerve out the way, knocked the wing mirror off, lost a quarter-bumper and a couple of wheel trims."
In 1964, the Queen herself was even in the car when Philip was involved in an accident. A 32-year-old machinist named Henry Cooper was driving when all of a sudden his car collided with a Range Rover coming from the opposite direction. Henry was surprised to discover the other driver was Philip.
Basil Boothroyd, who published a biography about Prince Philip, noted that the press grew more and more stern with Philip about his driving after he and Elizabeth got engaged. "After the engagement there were motherly gasps from the papers. ‘Philip: Take it Easy (Sunday Pictorial). ‘Lt Philip Hurt in Car Crash (Daily Mail). This was to do with a skid and a twisted knee a month before the wedding [to Queen Elizabeth]."
Basil continued, "They got a bit sterner after the marriage, with another ‘crash’ in February 1948. It only dented the wing of a taxi at Hyde Park Corner, but Elizabeth was with him. Ten years later, the Daily Express was able to scrape together a total of seven incidents, headed ‘Should Philip drive the Queen?’ (Three of them were only reports of high speeds, none in this country, clocked by someone at 70, 85 and 75mph)."
One can assume that Zara will get her driving under control when her license is returned to her in six months … right? Either way, she's sure to have a host of royal drivers at her disposal in the meantime, and perhaps even Princess Anne will pick her up from time to time.
