Princess Anne fined for speeding

Princess thought chasing police car was an official escort

Princess Anne has been fined £400 after admitting driving her Bentley at 93mph on a dual carriageway in Gloucestershire.

Cheltenham magistrates also gave her a five-point endorsement on her licence and ordered her to pay £30 costs.

According to a letter written by the princess's solicitors, the details of which were read out in court, she had been travelling to an engagement near Gloucester.

She saw the police car and believed it was waiting to escort her on her journey

Kim Edge
Court clerk

The princess was on a dual carriageway near Cheltenham when a police car pulled out behind her.

She apparently thought the car was there to escort her and carried on.

She was on her way to an engagement at the agricultural college, Hartpury, when she was caught behind a slow-moving line of traffic on the A417 Brockworth by-pass.

Flashing blue lights

Kim Edge, clerk of the court, said: "She saw the police car and believed it was waiting to escort her on her journey.

"She accelerated from behind the traffic in front of her to a clear part of the road so the officers could see her."

The police car followed her and flashed its blue lights briefly.

But the princess took this as a signal from police they were escorting her, the court heard.

'High means' taken into account

But shortly after, the police car turned off the bypass.

Officers had registered her speed at 93 mph in the 70mph zone.

The princess, who admitted speeding on a Sunday afternoon in August last year, did not appear in court in person.

The chairman of magistrates, Graham Sacker, said they had taken into account the Princess' high means, and clean driving licence when deciding her punishment.