The death of Queen Elizabeth II has revealed many of the stories of her life and the secrets of her personal meetings with world leaders and monarchs after spending 7 decades at the head of the British crown.
The 96-year-old queen’s departure from a previous meeting that brought them together in Scotland brought a unique story with the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.
The gist of the story is the tour the late Queen took when she drove her Land Rover with her Saudi guest in the highlands of Aberdeenshire.
According to Sherrard Cooper Coles, former British ambassador to Riyadh, in September 1998, when Prince Abdullah was Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdullah was invited to Scotland’s Balmoral Palace to have lunch with the Queen.
According to the Times, according to his memoirs, Coles said: “After lunch, the Queen asked her guest if he wanted to travel in the province or not. the first.”
Coles continues: “The royal Land Rovers drew up in front of the castle. As ordered, the (Saudi) crown prince got into the front seat of the Land Rover with his translator in the back.”
Coles noted that the late Saudi king was surprised to find Queen Elizabeth sitting in the driver’s seat and moving.
He said King Abdullah was not used to a woman driving in a country that bans women from driving.
Elizabeth II did not have a driver’s license. He does not need to get the Queen’s permission.
In contrast, Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive in 2018, a year after Prince Mohammed bin Salman ascended to the throne.
Coles adds: “It was only when the Queen, a wartime army chauffeur, sped the car through Scotland’s narrow roads and kept talking that she became more nervous.”
And he added: “Through his interpreter, the crown prince asked the queen to slow down and focus on the path (looking) ahead.”
King Abdullah died in January 2015 at the age of 91 and was succeeded by the current king, Salman bin Abdulaziz, less than ten years after he ascended the throne.
However, King Abdullah has been considered the de facto ruler of the kingdom since 1995 after former King Fahd bin Abdulaziz suffered a stroke.
In 2003, when Coles met Abdullah, who assumed the throne in August 2006 after being appointed ambassador to Riyadh, the former Saudi king asked about the health of the British queen and other members of the royal family. .
“I replied that I had complimented the Queen, who had fond memories of driving in the hills,” says Coles.
“Abdullah smiled and said in Arabic, ‘Yes, I was a little nervous,'” he recalled. I told your Queen not to look at me, but at the road.” “I think so, Ambassador, Her Majesty the Queen.” It drives the ship of state steadier than a Land Rover.
Source: Lebanon Debate
