Car Features
A unique Royal Cadillac
Within the British Commonwealth, Royal visits are still a huge deal and the carriages chosen to transport the visitors are chosen very carefully. This 1951 Cadillac is a standout and was auctioned in Las Vegas by Barrett Jackson in September 2026.
Barrett-Jackson
Tradition had it that the Royal vehicles needed to provide prestige, while affording the public a clear view of the occupants during street parades.
At home, the Royals always used British-made vehicles and UK-built was also the most common brand choice for Royal visitors to Commonwealth countries: Daimlers, Rollers, Bentleys and Humbers being the usual cars. Parades and visits off-tarmac also saw the Royals transported in Land Rovers.
However, for the 1951 Royal Tour of Canada by then Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Price Phillip, the Canadians chose a locally-made brand that was the pride of Canada and the USA: Cadillac.
Barrett-Jackson
The choice of a prestige North American brand of Royal Tour car reflected the significance of the post-WWII closeness of Great Britain and North America, as well as the manufacturing co-operation across the Great Lakes between Canada and the USA.
(Of course, that was back in the pre-Trump days, when Canadians were proud of the economic bond with their southern neighbours.)
Canada’s Royal Tour
Barrett-Jackson
The 1951 Royal Tour of Canada was held from 8th October to 12th November and was the first visit to Canada by the future Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal party spent 33 days travelling across Canada, visiting all 10 provinces. The couple also visited Washington, DC, during the tour.
The Canadian Royal Tour followed a successful post-War Tour of South Africa, in 1947. The UK plan was for the Royal Family – King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and their daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret – to tour major Commonwealth countries, to thank them for their contribution to the victory of WWII. (It also had a lot to do with cementing the remaining countries to Commonwealth trade economics…)
However, the chain-smoking George VI was already seriously ill, so the 1947 Tour was his last. The Palace decided that the remaining Royal Tours would be done by his daughter Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip. (It was on a subsequent Royal Tour of Kenya, in 1952, that news came of the King’s death and the Royal party left quickly for Landon.)
Boeing 377 Stratocruiser – Space Museum Archives
In October 1951, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip flew to Montreal by BOAC Stratocruiser – an airliner derived from the Boeing B-29 WWII bomber that was another deference to North American industry – and soon boarded their Cadillac Royal Tour vehicle.
As much as possible, Royal Tour vehicles are open-topped, to allow people to see the Royals as they pass by, but for wintry Winnipeg, a transparent plastic bubble was installed over the open-topped car.
The Royal Cadillac
Barrett-Jackson
The all-new, post-War Series 62 Cadillac was launched in 1948, sporting tail fins inspired by the Lockheed P-38 fighter plane, shortened wheelbase and wider track, but still with the 346 CID ‘flathead’ V8 that had been used since 1941.
Fortunately, a new Cadillac 160bhp, 331 CID OHV V8 powered the post-1950 Series 62 models, along with one-piece windshield, four-speed Hydra Matic transmission and noticeably-improved trim.
The custom-built Royal Tour car was based on a 1951 Cadillac Series 62 Royal Parade convertible. It scored power steering, power windows, power-adjustable front seats, an enlarged radiator for slow-speed parade use and a factory-installed four-barrel carburettor, one of only two 1951 Cadillacs built with this modification.
Barrett-Jackson
An aviation company produced the custom clear bubble-top convertible enclosure.
The exterior was finished in black, over a red Hydes leather interior and the restored car retains a factory-installed commemorative dash plaque documenting its Royal heritage.
Included with the sale was an invoice for the build, historical books and images showing the Princess with the car, plus a silver and rhinestone replica of the George IV State Diadem that graced the head of the later Queen Elizabeth II on some UK coins.
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