registered JGY 280 and finished in dark green. In May 1961 Her Majesty the Queen Mother took delivery of a similar 3 litre car registered VUL 4. Neither car was obviously different from standard specification, although VUL 4 did carry a discreet identifying lamp at the base of its roof mounted radio aerial and was illuminated when in use by a member of the Royal family. This was to allow the police on point duty to quickly identify and usher the Royal Rover through the traffic. In 1963 Her Majesty took delivery of the first of two 3 Litre Mk 2 cars, the first carrying forward the personal number plate JGY 280 with the second Mk 2 being built rather later, finished in Pine Green, and registered 155 HYU. This was an additional car, not a replacement, and delivered to the Royal Estate at Sandringham and is still housed in the Royal Mews and is on display for visitors to see, among other Royal vehicles. It is clear that Her Majesty the Queen had considered the Rover P5 her favourite car during the 1960s and when the 3-litre models were no longer available, she took delivery of her first P5B replacement. Rover records suggest that just two P5Bs were delivered for Her Majesty's personal use and both were saloons, although other P5Bs were undoubtedly used by the Royal Household more generally. The first of these two cars was VIN 84007057D, which was finished in a special dark green (Recorded as T&N Dark Green) which she specifically requested and it was delivered towards the end of January 1971 with the registration number JGY 280. Her Majesty's second car was also in the T&N Dark Green and was VIN 84100723D – the last P5B manufactured in 1973 but not delivered to the Queen until March 1974, as it had a number of modifications as a consequence of the Irish troubles. The Queen appears to have wanted to retain her private registration JGY 280 which had been on all of her earlier Rovers, but in fact the car was given the contemporary number of JGY 280K – presumably because that was less conspicuous for a car which Her Majesty used to drive unaccompanied on public roads. , both cars were still owned by Her Majesty and retained at the Gaydon Motor Heritage Museum. References P5 Luxury vehicles 1960s cars 1970s cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles