In 1998, Queen Elizabeth II hosted Crown Prince Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia at her Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle. The queen
extended a casual offer of a car ride, leading the prince to a waiting royal
Land Rover. Abdullah sat in the front passenger seat, while his interpreter sat
behind him. The queen, an experienced driver, was known for the military-grade
driving skills she’d learned during World War II. Despite the prince's initial
hesitation, he agreed to the tour, and the queen took him for a spin around the
castle grounds. As the story goes, the prince spent most of the ride clutching
his seat in white-knuckled terror, pleading with the British monarch to slow
down. I’ve heard at the time Her Majesty was unaware that it was illegal for
women in Saudi Arabia to drive at all. Personally, I think it would have been an
even funnier story if she’d known.
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