The 1954 Lagonda 3 Litre Drophead Coupe. 

Registration No: OXR 1

Chassis No: LB/290/31

Faced with the need for a full four-seater so that he could transport members of his family as well as any attendant security detail but wanting something sporting, exclusive and British, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opted for a Lagonda 3 Litre Drophead Coupe. It was built as a special order of HRH, fitted with a power hood and floor-change gearbox (modifications that were standardised on the MK2) and for the time, a pioneering radio telephone and extra vanity mirror for HM, The Queen. Finished in a bespoke shade of Edinburgh Green matched to grey leather upholstery, the luxurious four-seater Convertible was 1 of just 20 MK1 cars made.

The Duke of Edinburgh used the Lagonda as his personal transport until 1961. There is an amusing story about Prince Phillip driving Her Majesty through London in the car and being stopped by the police. When the shocked policeman recognised who was in the Lagonda he stood to attention and waved them on.” HRH, was a regular at The Thursday Club at Wheeler's restaurant in Soho, where fellow members included Baron Nahum, David Niven, Peter Ustinov and Francis Bacon. Prince Philip took the Lagonda on a tour of The Commonwealth in 1956-1957 and so there are numerous photos of it at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and elsewhere. The 3-Litre is also featured in several Pathe News films and countless newspapers and magazines from the period. In all, the Prince covered over 30,000 miles including his trips to commute between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and the Cowdray Park for polo matches and to Cheam prep school to drop off Prince Charles. A technology buff, HRH obviously enjoyed his new 'toy', the radio telephone, allowed him to speak directly to Buckingham Palace via a unique Admiralty frequency and Pye relay station up on the Hampstead hills, as the Daily Sketch told its readers: 'The Duke takes a keen delight in making surprise calls to the Queen . . . Sometimes he disguises his voice when speaking to Charles and Anne'.

As an enthusiastic driver, the young Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten had held the unofficial record among his fellow naval officers for the 98-mile run from Bath to London, he doubtless approved of the Lagonda's all-round independent suspension, rack and pinion steering, full-synchromesh gearbox, svelte Frank Feeley styling and race proven DOHC straight-six engine. Capable of over 100mph.

The Lagonda also undertook its fair share of official duties (hence the pennant mount in its nearside front wing). According to its Service Records (recording HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh as the purchaser), chassis LB/290/31 was treated to sometimes weekly maintenance by the factory with engineers being dispatched to the Royal Mews and Windsor Castle.  Keen that the cat should never fail to proceed and always look its best in public its manufacturer was only too eager to remedy any cosmetic blemishes or mechanical issues. Already familiar with the four-seater, Aston Martin Lagonda dispatched its chief service engineer Tony Tocock to look after the four-seater for the duration of its Australian sojourn, while Dunlop wrote to the Royal Mews to assure them that its Antipodean stockists would all carry a set of correct tyres for the car. Aston Martin Lagonda were subsequently granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh, while his example inspired purchases from the likes of King Baudouin of Belgium, King Hussein of Jordan and Prince Bertil of Sweden.

After seven years and 35,000 miles of service, the Duke chose to replace the Lagonda with an Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupe. A Mr Rogers became its second private keeper in January 1962. Reg changed to XYX 3. Some fifteen years later he approached Aston Martin Lagonda to see whether they could recommend a potential purchaser. Conscious of the important Lagondas that the vendor owned, the factory recommended him as a worthy custodian. It changed ownership in 1977. In April 2016. It sold at HandH auctions for £337,500,