Queen Elizabeth II Terrorized the Late King Abdullah by Being His Chauffeur

When Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah visited UK's Queen Elizabeth II, then he was put through some rather nervous moments when she drove him. In 1998, he was a Saudi crown prince visiting Balmoral, the sprawling, royal, Scottish estate.

In 2003, when Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles became Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, he met Queen Elizabeth II, when she "gleefully recounted" her tour of King Abdullah's first visit to Balmoral. Abdullah was technically still the crown prince, even though he had been the "de facto ruler for several years", according to vox.com.

The Queen offered to tour him through her grounds, according to motherjones.com.  Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles recounted that when the royal Land Rovers came up to the castle, the Crown Prince climbed into the front seat, while his interpreter sat behind.

He was astounded and probably terrified when the Queen climbed into the driving seat, started the engine and began to drive. Women in Saudi Arabia cannot drive, and Abdullah was not used to ever being driven by a woman, let alone a Queen.

His nervousness went up with the acceleration of the car by the Queen, who had been an Army driver in wartime. She navigated the Land Rover along the narrow Scottish estate roads, even while she talked continuously.

The Crown Prince gasped and asked her to slow down and focus on the driving through his interpreter.

The royal custom does not encourage repeating royal anecdotes or what the Queen says in private, Cowper-Coles affirms. But the anecdote was confirmed by Abdullah, which was, as the diplomat put it, "too funny not to repeat."

Abdullah's so-called 'reformer' image in Saudi Arabia still did not permit women driving, in spite of----or perhaps because of----having been driven by one queen thousands of miles away!