Why don't the royals always wear seatbelts?

(Image credit: REX)

Ever since Prince Philip's car crash last week, the Duke and other members of the royal family have been a little scrutinised when out and about driving, with some criticising Philip for driving again this weekend, sans seatbelt.

This led to many questioning whether the royals actually need to wear seatbelts or not, given that they sometimes follow their own guidelines.

So HELLO! set about to answer that question, and it turns out they have to follow the rules of the road like everyone else. However, there are certain exceptions where they don't need to, which include when, 'a person [is] involved in a procession organised by or on behalf of the Crown or which is commonly or customarily held'.

Which happens a lot in their case, when they are surrounded by a police escort. However, the Queen does try and make sure that everyone follows the rules.

A source told the publication, 'The Queen is careful to ensure that any activities that she carries out in a personal capacity are done so in accordance with the law.'

One other exception is that the Queen is the only person who doesn't need to hold a driving licence to drive.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.