00:00Queen Elizabeth II once left a Saudi prince terrified behind the wheel.
00:05In 1998, Crown Prince Abdullah visited the queen at Balmoral, her Scottish estate.
00:11After lunch, Elizabeth offered to take him on a tour of the grounds.
00:16The prince got into the car expecting a royal chauffeur to drive.
00:20Instead, the queen took the wheel herself.
00:23At the time, women were still prohibited from driving in Saudi Arabia.
00:27What Abdullah may not have known was that Elizabeth had learned to drive and maintain
00:32vehicles during her service in World War II.
00:35She soon accelerated along the narrow roads of the estate.
00:39According to accounts of the encounter, the prince became so uncomfortable that he asked
00:44his interpreter to tell the queen to slow down.
00:47Elizabeth, however, simply continued driving while carrying on the conversation as though
00:53nothing unusual was happening.
00:54Years later, Saudi Arabia changed its laws.
00:58In 2018, women were finally allowed to drive legally in the country.
