Charles hits the road in vintage MG during Cuba visit

The Prince of Wales got behind the wheel of a classic British car as he embraced Cuba’s love of vintage motoring.

With the Duchess of Cornwall sitting beside him, the heir to the throne drove a black MG TD from 1953 to a rally in Havana featuring other lovingly restored vehicles from the golden age of British sports cars.

The sight of American motors from the 1940s and 1950s on the streets of the Cuban capital is known the world over but there is also a group of hardcore fans dedicated to UK cars from Triumph, Austin-Healey, Jaguar and others.

Charles was loaned a car once owned by Britain’s ambassador to Cuba in 1957 – two years before Fidel Castro’s revolution brought communism to the island.

The MG’s owner today is Eduardo Bermudez, 47, who has been in love with British cars since he was a boy. He found the MG in a terrible condition in a garage, bought it and had it restored.

He said: “If you want something original and different you should buy British. In the 1950s everybody had American cars but the best sports cars were from England.”

Charles, the owner of an Aston Martin DB5 Volante convertible, had a practice run in the MG on Monday.

Mr Bermudez said: “It’s just like my baby, you cannot drive it all the time,” but added: “To have my car driven by somebody like him – it’s in safe hands.”