"Svend" (svend)
06/01/2014 at 02:12 • Filed to: None
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"Svend" (svend)
06/01/2014 at 02:12 • Filed to: None | 1
| 4 |
Yesterday oblivious to many if not all of us something was happening in the press regarding the Royal visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to France for the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings on the 6th of June.
It turns out the realisation of hat wearing in transit has caused some hat-ache namely regarding the roof of the French Presidential Citroen DS5 or even the larger C6, as it would not give sufficient headroom for Her Majesty to wear her head wear whilst sitting upright in the vehicle. French President Francois Hollande has decided to take former President Sarkozy's Renault Vel Satis out of mothballs with it's additional 2.6" of headroom to accommodate the Royal head wear.
Citroen DS5
Citroen C6
Renault Vel Satis
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Article below from 4breakingnews.com
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!!! UNSUPPORTED LINE BREAK IN HEADER !!!
The Queen';s large hats have led to a hasty change of plan by the French government over what car she should travel in during next week';s trip to Normandy.
There have been months of preparations for Her Majesty';s official visit to France, as part of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6.
She had been due to travel in President Francois Hollande';s low-roofed official Citroen DS5.
But the Elysee Palace then realised the Queen would not be able to sit upright in the back of the car or the larger C6 model without squashing her headwear.
The presidential fleet does include people carriers that have more space but these were seen as being unfit for the British monarch.
The Renault Vel Satis car that ex-president Sarkozy used
As a result, the Elysee Palace has now chosen a Renault Vel Satis which had been mothballed.
It is 62.2 inches high – 2.6 inches taller than the 'compact executive'; DS5.
The Vel Satis was a commercial failure for Renault and production was halted in 2009 after just seven years.
The model provided for the Queen is an armoured 3.5-litre V6.
Mr Hollande had picked the mid-size DS5 model as a symbol of his "normal" presidency to counter the flashy image of predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.
The president first travelled in the car for his 2012 inauguration where he was soaked on an embarrassing open-topped drive up the Champs Elysee."
Looks like the Vel Satis will get one last hurrah before probably getting mothballed for good. Though if Her Majesty is travelling via the Eurostar, why not put the Royal car on the train also (even if not the same train if it can not accommodate vehicles).
This will also no doubt be seen as one in the eye by Renault for Citroen.
Cé hé sin
> Svend
06/01/2014 at 05:08 |
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This is dreadful news (for the French)in that in confirms that they do not have the capacity or ability to make a car suitable for Mrs Windsor.
What's happened to the French luxury car industry of the past?
GenericSpoon
> Cé hé sin
06/01/2014 at 11:45 |
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I agree. If it was Hollande's tour of England they'd drive him around in XJ's. I must say however, that the DS5 is pretty cool looking.
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Svend
> Cé hé sin
06/01/2014 at 12:57 |
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To be honest it just shows that they don't have anything presently suitable on the current Presdential fleet and taking one out of mothball is both a nice sign of respect for Her Majesty and also respectful of the French tax payer by not just going out and having one made.
A great compromise to all really and sure Her Majesty is suitably greatful.
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Svend
> GenericSpoon
06/01/2014 at 13:19 |
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If Francois Hollande was to travel with Her Majesty (and the French government allowed it as the car is pretty well open to the viewing public) in the U.K. then he would most likely travel in the Royal Bentley car.
The vehicle prior to the Bentley, the Rolls Royce is still in the Royal fleet also.
Though as you say, he may opt for the more security viable Jaguar (in between the two Jaguar XJs of the photo).
