The royal family has at its disposal a fleet of luxury vehicles, including vintage Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Jaguars and an Aston Martin. However, it is not easy to determine which vehicles are privately owned, which belong to the monarch by right of the crown, and which vehicles are leased from manufacturers.
The royal stables at Buckingham Palace are the main home to the motorcade of limousines and other luxury vehicles used by the family for formal occasions. They are often referred to as “state cars,” but the term does not necessarily mean that they are owned by the state.
Many of them were provided to the royal house by car manufacturers, who presumably want to associate their brand with the British royal family.
Bentley, for example, provided two limousines in 2002 for Queen Elizabeth’s golden jubilee, and the company reportedly sent one to Germany for Charles’ first state visit as king last month. An estimate of the value of the actual cars suggests these two vehicles alone could be worth at least £1.4m.
Bentley declined to explain the terms of its supply of vehicles to the palace, however it is understood that some borrowed or leased vehicles are returned to the manufacturer after the royals have used them.
Although Buckingham Palace declined to comment on who owns certain vehicles in the royal stables, it appears that some of them belong to the monarch by right of the crown, meaning they are not the king’s personal property. However, a visit The Guardian to the stables suggests that other vehicles are privately owned by the Windsors.
For example, Elizabeth and Philip bought a 1950 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, valued at at least £2.5 million, before she became queen. Only 18 Phantom IVs were made. When Elizabeth ascended the throne, it was repainted dark red and turned into a “state car”, but there is nothing to indicate that it has changed ownership.
The stables also house a 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, which was purchased by the Queen Mother and is believed to belong to Charles.
A palace spokesman noted that the state cars kept in the royal stables were “predominantly owned by the monarch by right of the crown or leased.” However, he did not dispute that some of the vehicles were privately owned.
Adding to the confusion, even the vehicles housed in the royal stables and designated “autos de Estado” are sometimes used for private purposes.
During their wedding in 2018, Princess Eugenie, who has never been an active royal, arrived in a 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI valued at £1.3m. This state car was given to the Queen as an official gift from the UK motor industry to mark her silver jubilee.
The Sandringham Fleet
There is another fleet of cars at the Windsors’ private estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. Housed in a former stable is a collection of 12 vintage cars, estimated to be worth at least £1.8m in total. All were previously used by the royal house and are believed to be private property.
The most expensive vehicle is a 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, valued at at least 700,000 pounds (about 15 million pesos). Its provenance is unknown, but it was used as a State car between 1961 and 2002.
The palace did not specify how the former state car ended up on the family’s private property. A spokesperson declined to comment on who owns the vehicles at Sandringham, adding: “We will not comment on any private property owned by members of the royal family.”
In addition to the vehicles at the palace and at Sandringham, Charles owns a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Volante, which was a gift from the late Queen on his 21st birthday. The vehicle, refurbished in 2008 to run on bioethanol – or, as Carlos described it, “wine and cheese” – could be worth at least 2 million pounds (about 40 million pesos) at auction.
The analysis carried out by The Guardian suggests that, in total, the king privately owns a fleet of cars worth at least £6.3 million.
And something for the ponies
There is no other Aston Martin on the list, a 1987 V8 Vantage Volante, which the Emir of Bahrain gave Carlos on a state visit. The car was customized to the point of including a fur-lined jar of sugar cubes for King Charles’s polo ponies in the glove compartment.
In December 1995, Carlos sold the car at Sotheby’s auction house for £110,000 (about two million pesos) and donated the proceeds to the Prince’s Trust, his own charity. Earlier that year, the palace first introduced a gift policy, updated in 2003, the policy now states: “Under no circumstances should official gifts be sold or exchanged.”
The palace declined to comment on how the sale of an official state gift was consistent with the rules..
