Queen Elizabeth II trained as a truck mechanic and driver during the Second World War.
In 1945, at 18, the future queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service and learned to change tyres, strip engines and drive heavy vehicles. She was the first female member of the royal family to serve full time in the armed forces.
Why is this true?
She enjoyed driving for the rest of her life and was famously exempt from needing a licence, since British licences were issued in her name. Her wartime service was often cited as the root of her hands-on, practical reputation.
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