Why Princess Anne Awarded a Man for Car Restoration

Malcolm Stern, a 95-year-old man from Hertfordshire, restored a 1930s car – and received an award from the Princess Royal.

Princess Anne is the royal patron of the President’s Award at the National Transport Trust’s (NTT). The princess was in the news earlier this year after suffering concussion after a horse accident. Princess Anne stayed at a Bristol hospital as a precaution.

Princess Anne was back to public duty less than three weeks after the incident, and in September, presented Stern with the award. Stern restored his father’s classic Sunbeam Talbot Darracq. He found the car available for auction in 2020, having been researching the Sunbeam to create a 3D model.

According to a report on the car restoration market, it showed “a steady and strong upward trend in recent years”. Keeping cars in top condition often significantly impacts resale value. Neutron Alloys offer expert wheel refurbishment, wheel straightening, welding, and diamond cutting. 

The Sunbeam

Sunbeam Talbot Darracq, or STD, is now a discontinued company after being formed in the early 1900s. The company manufactured luxury cars. In 1923, Sunbeam became the only British company to win a Grand Prix before the 1950s. Henry Segrave, driving for Sunbeam, achieved an average speed of 75.3 mph, with teammates Albert Divo and Kenelm Lee Guinness finishing second and fourth. Later that year, Divo won the Spanish Grand Prix. 

Stern’s car wasn’t in great condition at the auction. In fact, it was “a right wreck”, according to Stern, but with his restoration work, the car passed its MOT in 2023. 

He took it out for a 15-mile drive with his son, who said fans were “in awe” of Stern senior. The Sterns were greeted by members of the STD club who wanted to see the rare car. 

Jonathan Stern said, “Dad’s been working on this for such a long time and he’s just such a stubborn and obstinate guy so there was no way that this was ever not going to happen – and he just made it happen.”

The restoration took three years and Malcolm Stern planned to spend six more months on the car’s interior.  

Stern’s daughter, Samantha McGarry appreciated the princess’s time: “The princess was very gracious, interested in all the restoration projects and took time to chat with each of the award winners individually. She appeared quite interested in dad’s story.”

The history of Stern’s Sunbeam

Malcolm Stern said his father, Alec, bought the car in 1935 and drove it to work every day and took the family on picnics.

The car is nearly as old as Malcolm himself. He bought the car back for £6,000 for “sentimental reasons”. Stern estimated that 90% of the car was original, but some of that required significant renovation. The original engine was “smashed up in a rally” and required 2,000 hours of work from renovators and 1,000 hours from Stern.

Stern said, “I’m still very excited, very surprised that I’m 94, able to be here and do this and still be fit enough to go out in the car for a ride. I think my father would be very proud, he’d be very excited as well”.