From sporty Aston Martins to ultra-luxurious Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, his Majesty King Charles has had them all.
The British Royal family has always had an interest in motorcars. From luxury cars to sports cars and SUVs, the royal fleet has always been a topic of conversation. The United Kingdom will crown itself a new King in just a few days, and cars will likely play an integral part in the coronation ceremony.
King Charles III has been known for being a true gearhead, showing interest in not only building his exquisite private collection but also the future of fuel sustainability. The thing with Royal car collections is that they seem to have a limousine for every possible situation, so working out who owns what is rather complicated. But we have fiddled around to give you a list of cars that are the dearest in King Charles III’s collection.
What Cars Do The Royal Family Drive?
The royals have and will continue to drive and be driven in exclusively British-made vehicles. This has been a long-standing tradition and one which has elevated the perception of the British motor industry throughout the world. If some of the most important individuals are being transported in a Rolls-Royce, then this shall be the benchmark of luxury across the world.
The British motor industry owes a lot of its success to the public perceptions of its royal family members. Although often labeled “state cars”, this does not mean that all the cars are owned by the state. The late Queen Elizabeth II famously had a fleet of Land Rover Defenders and Range Rovers, one of which she asked to be sent back to be replaced with a manual gearbox rather than the factory-fit seven-speed auto.
What Cars Does King Charles Own?
According to a report undertaken by the Guardian, the King’s private fleet is worth a pretty penny. His collection includes several Roll Royce Limousines, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars, and Land Rovers. The fleet is an all-British affair, and why shouldn’t it be? The new King flies the flag for the British motor industry, that even in this day and age, remains one of the finest in the world.
As a new era in British Monarchy begins, King Charles III has certainly passed down some of his mother’s love of driving. As a young whippersnapper, Charles owned and drove a series of Aston Martin DB models, one of which he still owns. Untangling which cars are leased and then returned to the manufacturer from those privately owned by His Majesty is a tricky task indeed.
What we can sus out is that all royal cars are kept at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace. Here it is believed that Charles has an early 1960s Rolls-Royce Phantom V, his late parents’ Phantom IV, and another Rolls-Royce – the Phantom VI. These cars alone hold an estimated combined value of $5 Million USD. Apart from these, the king is said to have experimented with electric cars, including a Jaguar i-Pace and even a Tesla Model S.
The cars in which the King made his first state visit, a brace of Bentley limousines, have a suspected value of $1.8 million USD. The royals also have a storage of cars on the Sandringham Estate, a stately home on whose grounds the Windsors spent many a long weekend on hunting trips or other country pursuits.
It is said that there is a total of 12 vintage cars. Details are unknown, but among them is thought to be a collection of Land Rover products, those best suited for the country lifestyle. They are believed to be former personal cars of the royal family and are said to be privately owned with an estimated value of $2.23 Million USD.
Does King Charles Have A Car That Runs On Wine?
As well as the cars kept in the palace mews and at Sandringham, the King owns a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Volante. This car was a gift from the late Queen Elizabeth on his 21st birthday. This was the famous convertible in which many a royal moment has been seen. Most recently, it was used as Prince William’s wedding car.
However, the car is a little different from a standard DB6. In 2008, it was converted to run on bioethanol or, as Charles described his Aston Martin, “wine and cheese”. The car is powered using surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese processes. The fuel is produced by an English company called Green Fuels which told the King that they could transform his classic AM into something more sustainable. Due to the history of the DB6, it could easily be worth at least $2.5 Million at auction.
This makes for an estimated total of $11.5 Million. About $7.8 Million of which is said to be part of the King’s privately owned estate. Not included in this figure is an Aston Martin V8 Volante, a gift from the crown prince of Bahrain, that had a leather-trimmed sugar-lump jar in the glove box made for Charles’ polo horses.
This car was auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in 1995, with the $125,000 proceeds going directly to King Charles’ charity, the Princes’ Trust. It was soon after that royal policy changed, stating that they could no longer sell/exchange official state gifts. Despite this, the King has agreed through gritted teeth that he is “a bit of a Clarkson”. In this quickly changing world, we can only hope that the tradition of driving remains with the future royals, despite their less luxurious approach towards royal life.
Sources: Guardian, RM Sotheby’s, Aston Martin, Land Rover
