Queen Elizabeth II showed an interest in the Dauphine (1957).

1957: Queen Elizabeth II accepts the gift of a Renault Dauphine built at Acton.

1959: With import quotas being abolished finally, Renault’s real era of expansion in the UK begins. Stepped up demand for the Dauphine now leads to imports of French-built Dauphines to supplement Acton production which is now running at 2,000 a year.

1960: With the British car boom in full swing, Renault opens an import centre at Southampton, fed by ferries operating direct out of Le Havre.

1961: The introduction of the new Renault 4 and the level of demand, by now far in excess of the Acton assembly line’s capacity, led to the decision to import all vehicles from France. As it transpired, this decision was to play a powerful part in the evolution of the company, and ultimately in the creation of Renault UK as we know it today.

https://www.renault.co.uk/renault-in-the-uk.html