Duke of Edinburgh's Aston Martin sells for record £350k
The Duke of Edinburgh's luxury Aston Martin car was sold for a record-breaking £350k at auction. The 1954 convertible was fitted with all mod cons including an additional vanity mirror for the Queen and a radio telephone. It was auctioned by H & H Classics at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire where it was purchased by an online buyer. The car and its new owner have been invited to participate in a historic parade of classic vehicles at Buckingham Palace as part of celebrations to mark the Queen's 90th birthday.

Aston Martin once owned by Duke of Edinburgh sold for £350,000

An Aston Martin once owned by the Duke of Edinburgh has been sold for a record-breaking £350,000.

The 1954 convertible, finished in a bespoke shade of Edinburgh Green, was sold to an online buyer after a number of bids, breaking the world record price for a 3-litre Lagonda.

The Lagonda 3 Litre Drophead Coupe was fitted with an extra vanity mirror - reportedly to allow the Queen to adjust her hat - and a radio telephone which allowed Prince Philip to speak to Buckingham Palace via a Pye relay station in north London.

A 1954 Lagonda 3-litre coupe once owed by the Duke of Edinburgh

He was said to have taken great delight in making surprise calls to his wife, and also in disguising his voice while chatting to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

Auctioned by H&H Classics at the IWM Duxford in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday, the car was made to order for Prince Philip, winning Aston Martin its first Royal Warrant.

Built in 1954, he drove it to polo matches and to drop his son off at Cheam prep school. The vehicle and its new owner have now been invited to take part in a 90-car concours d'elegance at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's official birthday on June 26, where British-made cars will pay tribute to the monarch.

The Lagonda was once loaded aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia for Philip's lengthy Commonwealth tour of 1956-1957 and he used it in Melbourne when he opened the Olympic Games in 1956.

Prince Philip owned the car until 1961, when he replaced it with an Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupe.

The car was sold by its third private owner for nearly four times what a 1954 model without royal connections would be worth. The previous record-holder sold for £80,000.

At the same auction, Bodie's silver Ford Capri from ITV series The Professionals sold for £55,000, setting another world record.

The crime drama aired on ITV from 1977 to 1983, featuring secret agents of a fictional CI5. Tough-guy and womaniser Bodie, played by Lewis Collins, was an ex-paratrooper, mercenary and SAS sergeant in the show.

His Strato Silver Capri with a tartan interior was sold on Wednesday, receiving the highest price on record for a 3-litre Capri.

Ford permanently loaned several identical cars to the show, and the 1978 Ford Capri 3.0S sold featured in seven episodes of the second series - carrying the fake registration UOO 303T.