Royal caravan built in the 1950s by Ringwood firm for Prince Charles and Princess Anne on display at Beaulieu motor museum

A CARAVAN built by a Ringwood firm and presented to royals as a gift in the 1950s is now on display at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum.

The royal caravan, built in 1955 by Rollalong Caravans Limited, was gifted to Prince Charles and Princess Anne that year as a gift from the Caravan and Motorhome Club.

Presented to the royal siblings in recognition of the Duke of Edinburgh’s patronage of the club, the caravan is now on display at the National Motor Museum following refurbishment in celebration of its 70th anniversary.

Designed to be roadworthy, the scaled down 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.

Measuring 6ft 9ins long and 5ft 9ins high, the caravan was “fully equipped” to serve as a 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 came equipped with a kettle and a frying pan. 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.

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 caravan club restored it and officially re-presented it to Princess Anne. It was later moved to Combermere Barracks, home to the Princess Royal’s cavalry regiment.

In 2007, the caravan was restored by the Rollalong company, and since has been displayed on several occasions, including anniversary celebrations for the club.

It was returned to Buckingham Palace in 2014 as part of the Royal Collection Trust’s royal childhood exhibition, requiring a crane to carefully lift and place it in one of the palace’s halls.

It was also displayed at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London, in September 2015, and was then exhibited at Compton Verney in Warwickshire as part of the “Britain in the Fifties: Design and Aspiration” in 2016.

Since then, by kind permission of the Princess Royal, the caravan has been permanently housed at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum.

The caravan club has curated a special showcase exhibition for the museum about the caravan, featuring archival photographs and artefacts.

Director general of the club, Nick Lomas, 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 and it’s wonderful to be able to share this with visitors to the National Motor Museum.”

The curator of the caravan club’s collection, Sara Riccabone, added: “This exhibition is a celebration of both royal history and caravanning history. 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 caravan exhibition will be on display until January.