Limousine used by Queen Elizabeth on display at the Reynolds Alberta Museum

A piece of royal history is on display at the Reynolds Alberta Museum, the 1939 McLaughlin-Buick convertible limousine that was used by Queen Elizabeth, along with several other members of the royal family.

The limousine was one of four cars built for the 1939 royal tour of King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth, across Canada.

Vern Bethel is the former owner of the car. He bought the car in 1972 and spent years restoring it.

“It’s a massive machine,” Bethel told CTV News Edmonton. “It was the largest car built by General Motors, at least at that time. It was over 20-feet long, it had a 155-inch wheelbase, it weighed nearly three tons.”

The Queen used the car along with Prince Phillip and Prince Edward in 1994 to open the Commonwealth Games in Victoria.

She even had something specially made for the limousine.

“The Queen actually sent a shield for her to have with the car at the Commonwealth Games, and this shield was made especially for the car, and the RCMP came and presented it to me before the car went to Victoria,” Bethel said. “I thought that was sort of quite something.”

The car was also used by then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana in the 1980s, as well as governor generals and members of the military throughout its lifespan.

“It does hit you when you’re driving to know who has actually been in that car, and we keep as much original as possible in its restoration.”

Bethel said the car helped him form a connection with members of the royal family over the years.

“The Queen Mother had once sent me a thank-you letter on behalf of Charles and Diana and that connection kept going,” he said.

“Later, since Prince Edward had been in to close the Commonwealth Games, I got a request from him to use the car for a drive around Vancouver.”

In 2018, Bethel made the difficult decision to part with the car.

“It caught the eye often, I was a little concerned that people would not be watching if they were driving and they saw this thing,” he said with a chuckle. “So that was I think one of the reasons I thought it should be in a museum.”

The car has been on display at the Reynolds Alberta Museum since then.

Bethel says he’s grateful for all the experiences the car brought him.

“It was something that would not have otherwise been had I not had the car.” 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson.