Queen takes motorhome tour, has sales pitch

Even though some luxury caravans and motorhomes come with a hefty price tag , we haven’t yet seen any with a royal seal. But we’re sure Her Maj will be tempted to take to the road on her own wheels at some point, after she toured a Bristol caravan factory and had a drive in a £45,000 motorhome called Mavis.

‘It’s a real home from home,’ she said, rightfully impressed at what she and hubby Philip found on offer inside Mavis on her tour of Bailey of Bristol yesterday (22 Nov).  They were talked through the design of the six-berth Approach SE760 motorhome by managing director Simon Howard, who showed them the three double beds, ideal for a family with four children like Her Maj and Philip, he pointed out.

Philip, however, had other ideas, drawing on his knowledge of redesigning horse boxes to demonstrate why the beds were, he said, going the wrong way: across the length of the cab rather than along it.

‘It might be something we have a look at,’ Mr Howard assured him.

The visit also saw a near-crash in the factory car park when the nicely-named Paul Royall took the couple for a spin in Mavis and left the hand brake off, nearly hitting a minibus that the royal aides had travelled in.

'I think it looked worse seen from the outside than from the inside,' Mr Royall said later. 'After that, it all went smoothly.'

The royal visit rounded off with a look inside a £20,000 Unicorn Cadiz, but Her Majesty was unable to be persuaded to take a caravan home by sales director John Parker. Still, Mr Parker holds out hope for a future purchase.

‘She hadn't brought her credit card and I know the Queen doesn't carry cash,’ he said. ‘My only regret is that we didn't get an order but who knows, they might be back.

‘I'll be following it up by the end of the week to see if they've decided on buying one.’

We like his style.