'Immortalised': Prince Philip's 1935 vintage car becomes Sri Lanka's royal artefact

The Duke of Edinburgh’s 90-year-old vintage 1935 Standard Nine car has become a Royal artifact at Sri Lanka’s Gardiner’s hotel museum. The late British Prince Philip, whose funeral is arranged for Saturday after he died aged 99, purchased his first automotive for 12 pounds during his time in Colombo when he served British Navy in 1940. At the time, the duke's maternal grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg, was the admiral of the fleet and first sea lord, and his then captain of HMS Kelly, uncle Mountbatten had co minced him to follow the Royal family’s tradition of serving the naval forces. In the early 1950s, The Duke of Edinburgh came to the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo and saw the car that he immediately wanted to purchase, and enquired if the brakes worked fine, according to the  British media outlets. 

According to museum records, Prince Philip first drove the car from Colombo to a naval base in Trincomalee, 260 kilometers (160 miles) away, and later went on to join the Standard Motor Car club. As the brakes didn’t work at the time and had needed repair, the duke bargained for the vintage car’s price and finally settled for a plan to pay in two equal installments in one month. The second-hand 93,040 kilometers long motor can still be driven, and the prohibitive cost of insurance means it is no longer underwritten, Sanjeev Gardiner, the owner of the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo told UK Time news.

[1935 Standard Nine Philip bought for 12 pounds. Image Credit: Twitter/@Seductv]

Philip's coffin to be driven in Land Rover

Gardiner’s father, Cyril, had first purchased the car in the 1950s and had also loaned Cadillac used by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their first official visit to Sri Lanka in 1954. The other car used by the Royal Family is also being restored, Gardiner said. Philip, who was a car aficionado, made the last special request for his coffin to be driven in custom-made Land Rover Defender that he had helped design to the Windsor Castle. His funeral plans have been scaled down to pandemic guidance and the ceremonial traditions such as music, hymns, choir, or burglar will not be there. Although the monarch’s wish to put him in Land Rover and send him up to Windsor is being planned by the Royals.