Royals Who Were Involved In Devastating Car Accidents

One of the perks of being a royal is easy access to the most luxurious hot wheels. Members of the nobility across the world are known for their automotive indulgences, displayed resplendently through the expansive fleet lining their royal garages. And while their status doesn't particularly impel them to acquire driving skills, many royals alternate between being driven around by chauffeurs and getting behind the wheel themselves. Queen Elizabeth II, for instance, possessed legendary steering expertise, and seeing her cruise around by herself well into her 90s wasn't an uncommon sight. She was exempt from a driving license, too! 

But the operation of machines rarely comes without a margin of error — especially on the road. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, road accidents contribute to 1.35 million annual deaths worldwide. Royals, though allowed certain liberties on the road including higher speed limits, aren't above the dangers that collisions and crashes pose. On multiple occasions, young and old members of the monarchy in Europe have found themselves in the midst of unfortunate motor incidents that they either escaped without consequence or tragically succumbed to. Take a look at these royals who were involved in devastating car accidents. 

In June 2019, Prince William and Princess Catherine found themselves in an unprecedentedly tricky situation after their convoy had an accident with an elderly woman, sending her to the hospital with serious injuries. The collision happened a little after noon when the royal couple was making their way to Windsor for a chapel service, escorted by police vehicles. One of the motorbikes in the procession reportedly hit the aged woman, identified as Irene Mayor, who was walking in Richmond. An official statement from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which presided over the case, relayed that Mayor was transferred to the hospital "in a serious but stable condition," per The Guardian. 

While investigations into the incident prevailed, William and Catherine parallelly issued their regrets over the matter. A statement from Kensington mentioned that the royals "have sent their very best wishes to Irene and her family and will stay in touch throughout every stage of her recovery," CNN quoted. It was reported that the unfortunate events of the day played out during traffic clearance for the senior royals' vehicle to pass through. Protocol dictated for the royal convoy to continue along its path despite the accident, which was apparently shielded from view for the couple. 

Back in 1997, when Camilla, Queen Consort was only an honorary member of the British royal family by virtue of her notorious affair with Prince Charles, she was involved in a car accident that left her with injuries that had the potential to be more severe than they were. Camilla was driving up to Highgrove House, the royal residence that she would later come to share with her paramour King Charles III when her Ford rammed into a Volvo. The latter, being commandeered by a woman identified as one Carolyn Melville-Smith, appeared to take the major impact of the collision, with the Independent reporting that the vehicle landed on its side. Camilla ended up with an afflicted wrist, while the other survivor suffered some trauma on the chest.

Smith claimed that the future queen "came through the air like a missile," the Associated Press quoted. Resources, including a bodyguard, sent by her high-profile partner promptly came to Camilla's rescue. She had already dialed the ambulance by then but reportedly failed to check in on the driver of the Volvo, a decision Camilla said was taken considering security purposes. Though Smith was chagrined over Camilla's reaction to the incident, she did not press charges and in a show of surprising sympathy, acknowledged the difficult relationship Camilla shared with the British public. The spotlight on Camilla was especially high-glare at the time on account of Charles and Princess Diana's divorce only a year prior in 1996.

Prince Philip was a skilled driver both behind the wheel and on the reins. The latter was a longtime passion of the late Duke of Edinburgh and he was known for his dexterity in carriage driving, a sport he indulged in even at competitive levels. His commandeering interests extended to cars, the steering of which requires mechanics and attention different from steering natural beasts. The prince, who drove himself around well into his 90s, knew that even the most adept drivers are susceptible to errors. In an accident he later admitted arose from his own failure to adjudge the oncoming vehicle, Philip crashed into a car carrying three passengers (including a baby) back in 2019. 

The elderly prince's Land Rover overturned in the vicinity of the royal family's Sandringham estate after coming into violent contact with a Kia. The collision left the 97-year-old royal rather shaken but unhurt, the BBC reported, while the Kia occupants sustained injuries. The car's passenger Emma Fairweather, who was left with a cast on her arm, received a personal note from Philip expressing regret over her broken limb. "I wish you a speedy recovery from a very distressing experience," he wrote, per the Mirror. As grave as the accident was, it didn't deter Philip from getting behind the wheel again just two days later — that too, without a seatbelt. He eventually surrendered his license. 

In the years since her new millennium PR scandal that rocked the royal family, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh managed to keep a low profile and generally clean record. In fact, it has been widely suggested that by virtue of her closeness to Queen Elizabeth II, she amassed great social cachet within the monarchy — not least because of her marriage to the late queen's son, Prince Edward. An unfortunate turn of events brought Sophie's gleaming image under question in May 2023 when a road accident involving her convoy led to the death of a civilian. The deceased, identified as Helen Holland, was 81 and had been visiting London from Essex.

A two-wheeler part of Sophie's motorcade was held responsible for the tragedy and a report by Sky News informed that the police constable riding the motorcycle was facing an independent investigation with a probability of facing criminal charges. According to Holland's family, the collision that happened in West London left the elderly woman with "multiple broken bones and massive internal injuries," the BBC quoted. She was reportedly in hospital for two weeks after the accident. Her death prompted a statement from Buckingham Palace expressing Sophie's sadness over the incident. While there has been no further public address by Sophie on the matter, she is believed to be in touch with the grieving family privately.

Having been pictured nearly all her life behind the wheel, Queen Elizabeth II was known to possess quite the skill for driving. Her cousins, not so much. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent — who is the son of King George VI's brother, which makes him a first cousin of the late monarch — landed in hot water when his name came up in a headline-making road accident in 2019. The royal, well into his 80s, was driving his Jaguar in East Sussex when he reportedly made a surprise turn that prompted an oncoming Mini to hit the brakes hard. The move caused the car to hit the curb and cause some damage to its body; Edward's car left the site without taking stock of the situation. 

The Mini was driven by Olivia Fellows, then a 21-year-old university student, the Daily Mail reported. "He shot across the road. But it was so close that if I hadn't emergency braked I would have gone straight into the middle of his car," she told the publication. It was only after police arrived on the scene that it became clear to Fellows that the Jaguar that cut through was of royal origin. A representative of Buckingham Palace briefly acknowledged the incident, claiming that all necessary information pertaining to the alleged mishap had been relayed to the authorities. 

King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden escaped unhurt from a potentially damaging road accident in 2018. The senior royal, who holds the crown of the longest-reigning Swedish monarch, was reportedly being driven to the airport in Stockholm when his Mercedes collided with another vehicle. According to the BBC, the royal's luxury carrier suffered the impact of the accident toward the front end, and an inflated airbag was visible in pictures from the incident. "There was a lot of damage to the car, but the King was unhurt. He is fine and he is not in shock," his representative told the Swedish publication The Local. 

It was clear Gustaf's spirit wasn't affected by the accident when he switched to a different vehicle after the collision and continued his onward journey to the airport undeterred. He was reportedly traveling to northern Sweden in pursuit of official engagements. There was minimal clarity on the details of other parties involved in the accident, though it was claimed there were no injuries. This was hardly the first time the Swedish royal had a streetside slip-up. Back in 2000, he had to make a public apology for speeding on the roads of Denmark, while a more permanent reminder of his driving episode gone wrong stands at the King's Carousel area in Norrköping where he had an accident in 2005.