Daimler is the only manufacturer that has delivered automobiles to all five monarchs of the United Kingdom since 1901.
This preference was mirrored by monarchs worldwide, and Rolls-Royce had to settle for second place in deliveries to monarchs apart from maharajahs.
After his marriage to Princess Elizabeth in 1948, Prince Philip Mountbatten opened the door to Rolls-Royce with an order for a private car, a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV.
It was delivered in 1950 and became part of the official fleet in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth became Queen.
Despite this, the Daimler Straight Eight (DE36) remained the favorite among reigning monarchs, including King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, King Mohammed Zahir of Afghanistan, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Prince Rainier of Monaco.

This Daimler supremacy changed with the next generation of cars, the Rolls-Royce Phantom V being more successful, with orders from five reigning monarchs—Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, King Hussein of Jordan, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Hakim Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Emir Sabbah III of Kuwait—while the Daimler DR450 was delivered to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and King Hussein of Jordan.
The man who had chosen "Grace, Space, Pace" as the motto of his Jaguar cars, William Lyons, was to change this and had the new Daimler DS420 launched in the same year as the new Rolls-Royce Phantom VI.
The new Daimler was to re-establish Daimler supremacy in royal courts, starting with King Frederick IX.
of Denmark who would experience the very first Daimler Limousine, a pre-production demonstrator on his visit to London in April 1968 and later ordered a production model, in black paint, delivered in March 1970.

This first order of the new model by a monarch was touted by Daimler in a supplement to the their sales brochure, which showed King Frederick's new car in front of Christiansborg Palace.
After the death of King Frederik IX, it served his successor Queen Margrethe II, the dowager Queen Ingrid, and Crown Prince Frederik at his 2004 wedding to Crown Princess Mary.
In 2008, the Daimler would again serve in the same role at the wedding of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, whom the Limousine then served subsequently.
This first DS420 Limousine delivered to a monarch is still with the Queen's fleet and thus has served the Danish court for almost half a century.

Prince Rainier III.
of Monaco also took delivery of a DS420 in 1970, even taking a flight to the UK in November 1970 to take delivery ( chassis nr.
1M 20033) directly and having it shipped to Nice airport in a cargo aircraft.
His DS420 had exterior two-tone paint of "silk" over black, the same as his previous car, a Rolls-Royce. "
Silk" in this context is a mixture of gold, silver and pale green.
The Daimler carried a blue bullet lamp on the roof and served the prince as state car until his death in 2005.
The Limousine is displayed in Monaco's Automobile Museum, which was founded by the Prince in Monte Carlo.

The greatest adherent of the DS420 was undoubtedly Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
She even visited the Vanden Plas factory when her first order neared completion to supervise changes according to her taste.
Between 1970 and her death in 2002, no less than five separate DS420s had served her (delivered in 1970, 1978, 1983, 1986, and 1992).
They were all painted in the royal colour combination of "Black over Royal Claret", had a blue bullet lamp on the roof, and carried the Registration "NLT 1" or, later, "NLT2".
It was the express wish of the Queen Mother that after her death her final DS420 should be given to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT), which today cares for the presentation of the limousine (with new registration K123 EYL) either at the museum at Gaydon or at rallies.

King Hussein of Jordan ordered a Daimler Limousine in 1970.
It was painted in the colour "Sand" and served various duties, including bringing King Abdullah II to school when he was young.
The Limousine today is on display at the Royal Automobile Museum
Daimler is the only manufacturer that has delivered automobiles to all five monarchs of the United Kingdom since 1901. This preference was mirrored by monarchs worldwide, and Rolls-Royce had to settle for second place in deliveries to monarchs apart from maharajahs. After his marriage to Princess Elizabeth in 1948, Prince Philip Mountbatten opened the door to Rolls-Royce with an order for a private car, a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV. It was delivered in 1950 and became part of the official fleet in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth became Queen. Despite this, the Daimler Straight Eight (DE36) remained the favorite among reigning monarchs, including King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, King Mohammed Zahir of Afghanistan, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Prince Rainier of Monaco. 
This Daimler supremacy changed with the next generation of cars, the Rolls-Royce Phantom V being more successful, with orders from five reigning monarchs—Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, King Hussein of Jordan, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Hakim Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain and Emir Sabbah III of Kuwait—while the Daimler DR450 was delivered to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and King Hussein of Jordan. The man who had chosen "Grace, Space, Pace" as the motto of his Jaguar cars, William Lyons, was to change this and had the new Daimler DS420 launched in the same year as the new Rolls-Royce Phantom VI. The new Daimler was to re-establish Daimler supremacy in royal courts, starting with King Frederick IX. of Denmark who would experience the very first Daimler Limousine, a pre-production demonstrator on his visit to London in April 1968 and later ordered a production model, in black paint, delivered in March 1970.
This first order of the new model by a monarch was touted by Daimler in a supplement to the their sales brochure, which showed King Frederick's new car in front of Christiansborg Palace. After the death of King Frederik IX, it served his successor Queen Margrethe II, the dowager Queen Ingrid, and Crown Prince Frederik at his 2004 wedding to Crown Princess Mary. In 2008, the Daimler would again serve in the same role at the wedding of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, whom the Limousine then served subsequently. This first DS420 Limousine delivered to a monarch is still with the Queen's fleet and thus has served the Danish court for almost half a century.
Prince Rainier III. of Monaco also took delivery of a DS420 in 1970, even taking a flight to the UK in November 1970 to take delivery ( chassis nr. 1M 20033) directly and having it shipped to Nice airport in a cargo aircraft. His DS420 had exterior two-tone paint of "silk" over black, the same as his previous car, a Rolls-Royce. "Silk" in this context is a mixture of gold, silver and pale green. The Daimler carried a blue bullet lamp on the roof and served the prince as state car until his death in 2005. The Limousine is displayed in Monaco's Automobile Museum, which was founded by the Prince in Monte Carlo. 
The greatest adherent of the DS420 was undoubtedly Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She even visited the Vanden Plas factory when her first order neared completion to supervise changes according to her taste. Between 1970 and her death in 2002, no less than five separate DS420s had served her (delivered in 1970, 1978, 1983, 1986, and 1992). They were all painted in the royal colour combination of "Black over Royal Claret", had a blue bullet lamp on the roof, and carried the Registration "NLT 1" or, later, "NLT2". It was the express wish of the Queen Mother that after her death her final DS420 should be given to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT), which today cares for the presentation of the limousine (with new registration K123 EYL) either at the museum at Gaydon or at rallies.
King Hussein of Jordan ordered a Daimler Limousine in 1970. It was painted in the colour "Sand" and served various duties, including bringing King Abdullah II to school when he was young. The Limousine today is on display at the Royal Automobile Museum
Daimler DS420