Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection Celebrates the 70th Anniversary of the Royal Caravan

The Royal Caravan with its design and construction team at Rollalong Caravans Limited of Ringwood, Hampshire in 1955.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club is proud to have its archive Collection at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu and is delighted to announce a special showcase marking the 70th anniversary of the Royal Caravan, a miniature caravan gifted to Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1955. This unique display celebrates the history and heritage of the Royal Caravan and its enduring connection with the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

The Royal Caravan, a fully functional scaled-down caravan, was built in 1955 by Rollalong Caravans Limited in Ringwood as a gift from the Club to the young royal siblings. It was presented to them in recognition of the Duke of Edinburgh’s patronage of the Club, which began in 1952. Designed to be roadworthy, the caravan featured custom furnishings, including a Poole Pottery tea set, Beatrix Potter books, and a signed copy of Children of the New Forest by Captain Marryat, a fitting tribute given its current home in the heart of the New Forest at the National Motor Museum.

A Royal Treasure Rediscovered

Measuring 6 feet 9 inches long and 5 feet 9 inches high, the Royal Caravan was far more than a toy - it was a fully equipped miniature home on wheels. It featured working interior lights, a sink with a hand pump, and road-legal fittings, including a hitch, brakes, and corner steadies. For safety reasons, it had a wooden hob instead of a working stove, but it still came with a kettle and frying pan for play. Originally, the caravan was towed around the grounds of Buckingham Palace by a specially modified Hillman Husky from the royal fleet, with the Duke of Edinburgh personally taking his children on a test tow.

The Royal caravan is re-presented to Princess Anne following its refurbishment to celebrate the 75th anniversary of The Caravan Club in 1982.

After Prince Charles and Princess Anne outgrew the caravan, it was stored away in a barn at Sandringham, where it was largely forgotten. In 1982, the Club restored it for the Club’s 75th anniversary, officially re-presenting it to Princess Anne. It was later moved to Combermere Barracks, home to the Princess Royal’s cavalry regiment.

For the Caravan Club’s Centenary Celebrations, the Royal Caravan was once again restored - this time by the original Rollalong company. Remarkably, one of the craftsmen involved in the 2007 restoration had been part of the team that originally built the caravan in the 1950s, ensuring both expertise and continuity in the project.

Over the years, the Royal Caravan has been displayed on several notable occasions. It was featured in the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Centenary Celebrations and returned to Buckingham Palace in 2014, as part of the Royal Collection Trust’s Royal Childhood requiring a delicate crane lift to be placed inside one of the palace’s halls. It was also displayed at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London, in September 2015. It was then exhibited at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, as part of Britain in the Fifties: Design and Aspiration, in 2016. Since then, by kind permission of HRH the Princess Royal, the Royal Caravan has been permanently housed at the National Motor Museum, where it remains a popular attraction.

A Special Anniversary Showcase

To commemorate this milestone, the Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection has curated a special showcase exhibition highlighting the Royal Caravan’s fascinating history, from its origins as a royal gift to its careful restorations. The display features archival photographs and artefacts that tell the full story of the caravan’s journey over the past seven decades.

The Royal Caravan’s story is deeply intertwined with the history of the Caravan and Motorhome Club, an organization that has championed the joys of touring since its founding in 1907. The 70th-anniversary showcase not only celebrates this remarkable vehicle but also highlights the Club’s long-standing commitment to preserving caravan heritage.

The Royal Caravan hitched to an Austin A40 outside Moyles Court near Ringwood, Hampshire, 1955.

Nick Lomas, director general of the Caravan and Motorhome Club said, “The Club is proud and privileged to have its historic and unique collection of ephemera at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. The story of the miniature Royal Caravan is an important and fascinating one, it’s wonderful to be able to share this with visitors to the National Motor Museum.”

“This exhibition is a celebration of both royal history and caravanning history,” said Sara Riccabone, curator of the Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection. “The Royal Caravan is a fascinating piece of craftsmanship and a testament to the enduring appeal of caravanning. We are thrilled to share this special anniversary with visitors and caravan enthusiasts.”

The showcase will be available to visitors from January 2025 and will run throughout the anniversary year. Guests are encouraged to explore the National Motor Museum’s extensive collection and discover the role caravanning has played in shaping Britain’s cultural landscape.

For more details on National Motor Museum exhibitions and events, visit https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/ or follow the National Motor Museum and the Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection on social media.

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All images credit: © Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection

Notes to Editors

About Caravan and Motorhome Club

Championing and helping its members get more from the great outdoors, whether glamping or touring, the Caravan and Motorhome Club represents the interests of over 1.1 million caravan, motorhome, campervan and trailer tent owners across the UK. With over 117 years of knowledge and expertise, the Club has a wealth of experience and prides itself on offering great value and high quality campsites for tourers and glampers.

Caravan and Motorhome Club membership is £66 per year and provides members with access to over 2,700 quality campsites across the UK and Europe. As the UK’s No. 1 rated touring club* it makes sure members get the most from their membership, saving them money with great value offers whether touring or at home.

The Club also offers a range of escorted European tours which are protected by ABTA. Plus escorted and independent tours in Australasia, North America and Southern Africa which are also fully protected, either by ABTA or ATOL when a flight is included. All members can take advantage of expert advice, overseas travel services, cover and insurance and exclusive member offers and discounts.

For further information about becoming a member of the Caravan and Motorhome Club, please visit www.camc.com or call 01342 318 813.

*As rated on Trustpilot

Media Contacts:
For more press information, please email Nikki Nichol at the Caravan and Motorhome Club on nikki.nichol@camc.com or by calling 07771 834443.

About The Collection and Museum

The Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection is the UK’s most significant collection of material relating to the history of leisure caravanning and motorhome holidays. Spanning from the birth of leisure caravanning in the 1880s to the present day, the collection has been hosted at the National Motor Museum since 2006. It includes a vast array of objects, publications, photographs, film footage, and sound recordings, reflecting the history of Europe’s premier touring organization and the one million caravan and motorhome owners it now represents.

The National Motor Museum Trust Limited is a charitable organization founded in 1972, running the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the New Forest. Continuing the legacy of the Montagu Motor Museum, the Trust cares for a world-famous collection of 250 vehicles and associated motoring artefacts, displayed in the National Motor Museum. The nearby Collections Centre preserves a vast array of motoring items, including photographs, a specialist reference library, and a film and video archive. For more information about the collection and services, visit www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk.

Visitors to Beaulieu can enjoy a full day out, including the ancestral Montagu home, Palace House, the 13th-century Beaulieu Abbey, the adventure play area Little Beaulieu, and scenic grounds and gardens. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.beaulieu.co.uk or by calling 01590 612345.

A full calendar of events and exhibitions is hosted at Beaulieu by the National Motor Museum, including Collection Centre Open Days, Classic Grille Evenings, and Transport Torques. Details are available at www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/events.

The National Motor Museum
Sara Riccabone
Senior Curator Caravan and Motorhome Club Collection
Tel: 01590 614762 / 07876 137809
E: sara.riccabone@beaulieu.co.uk

For press enquiries, please contact:
Bryn Jones
Marketing & Communications Officer, National Motor Museum.
Tel: 01590 614650 / 07442 456773
E: bryn.jones@beaulieu.co.uk