UPDATE : The Rolls Royce Phantom VI, with Kate Middleton, en route to Westminster's Abbey. It appears that the RR Phantom VI have been given some modifications from its last public appearance back in December 2010. The glasshouse area now features a transparent rear, extending from the roof down to the rear windscreen. Or it could be that the entire section is made to accommodate various different setup depending on the vehicle's intended purpose on that occasion. Scroll down for other pictures of the same car, with a supposedly aluminum rear panel covering the rear section for privacy.
The prince himself, Prince William, leaving Clarence House in the Bentley State Limousine. Because of the one off nature of the car, there is no specific model name. It is just referred to as the Bentley State Limousine and there are two of these models, both used by the Queen. The one-off Bentley was presented to the Queen in 2002 for her golden jubilee celebration. The Bentley is based on a standard Arnage limousine. Notable modifications include rear doors that are hinged at the back (instead of front like a conventional car) to allow The Queen to stand up straight before stepping down to the ground, as well as removable roof covers for use at public functions.
Later, the royal couple left Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in an Aston Martin DB6 Volante convertible. The Aston EBY 776J belongs to Prince Charles. One special thing to note about this particular Aston is that it has been converted by Prince Charles to run on bio-ethanol fuel made from surplus British wine, as part of Princes Charles' plan to cut his carbon footprint. The DB6 Volante is often confused with the DB5 Volante as they both look very similar. The DB6 can identified by its split front bumpers, a higher Kammback tail, longer wheelbase, and on the hard top non-Volante versions, a larger rear three quarter window and higher roof line. The DB5 however, has the honour of being recognised as one of the most famous car in the world. More on that here.
Below is the original post, made in the weeks building up to the royal wedding.
Channel E! will be busy covering Prince William's wedding with Kate Middleton. We won't be interested in any of those other than the sort of cars they will be using. And we were disappointed. The main transport for the royal couple is a horse drawn carriage. Two carriages will be prepared; one open-top version if the weather permits, else a close body carriage will be used.
Nice but erm...it's not our cup of tea.
The only car that will be used by the royal couple is a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, formerly the primary states car for Queen Elizabeth. The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was presented as a gift to the queen by Rolls-Royce in 1977 in conjunction with her silver jubilee year. The Roller however have since been replaced by a one-off special Bentley limousine although it still serves the royal family.
Reuters have been cited for releasing a set of photos Reuters claims to be the car that will be used to carry Kate Middleton to Westminster Abbey for her royal wedding. Reuters claims the car to be a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, with the images below. And that it is the same car that Prince Charles and Camilla was attacked in during the university students protest of Dec '10, but will be repaired.
However we need to point out that the photo description by Reuters is incorrect. The photos published by Reuters above shows a Rolls Royce Phantom IV, not a VI as claimed.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI used by Prince Charles, and formerly as the primary official car of the queen features a unique one-off body with high dome perspex armored windows. The same design is not seen on any other Rolls-Royce so it is very easy to spot. So either it was a typo error or some information got mixed up there. There was a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV in the British royal family fleet and this was previous used by the queen's sister Princess Margaret. Although to our knowledge, that car have since been sold off in a high end classic cars auction.
The photos below is the correct Rolls-Royce Phantom VI.
The attack on Prince Charles and Camilla on December 2010.
Queen Elizabeth in the same Rolls-Royce Phantom VI.
While all the attention is on Prince William, another royal wedding is to take place in Monaco. Prince Albert II of Monaco has recently appointed Lexus as the official vehicle supplier to H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. For his wedding with South African Olympian swimmer Charlene Wittstock, a Lexus LS600h (oddly he didn't choose the long wheelbase version) has been chosen as his car. The Lexus has been fitted with royal flag, “MC 01″ license plate and flashing lights.
The Prince of Monaco is known for his environmentally conscious image and Prince Albert II was one of the celebrities selected by BMW to trial the BMW Hydrogen 7. Until recently, the 52-year old prince was one of Europe's most eligible bachelor, as well as one of the longest holder to the title. Like his wife, the prince is also a former Olympian, competing in bobsleigh racing.
London is a city famed for opulent display of wealth, especially in places like Harrods and Mayfair, while Monaco is a rich playboy's playground littered with yacht marinas and fancy casinos. Sweden however presents a stark contrast, it's people are more introverted, environmentally sensitive and conspicuous display of wealth is frowned upon. So when their Princess Victoria married Daniel Westling, only plain white, stately but understated looking Volvo sedans and estates were used.
The Swedish royal family, unlike the British royal family however, likes to keep a low profile and is sensitive of their spending. So none of the Volvo cars used, 85 of them in total, were purchased but were instead leased. The cars were then sold off to the public after the wedding was over. Consistent with the Scandinavian environmental consciousness, cars used by the royal wedding motorcade must not emit more than 120g/km. So only DRIVe variants of the Volvo S80 and V70 were used. DRIVe is an umbrella sub-brand of Volvo, similar to BMW's Efficient Dynamics, covering all its high efficiency cars. Presently, DRIVe Volvo models are all clean diesels.
The royal wedding motorcade Volvos had some unique touches on it, including the royal wedding insignia at the sides, door sills and leather headrests.
But if pop and glam is what fans of Channel E! and Hello magazine wants, their readers shouldn't be looking to European royal families. Chinese and Indian families, the nuovo rich or the new rich owns everyone else in terms of outrageous spending. Check out this Chinese wedding!
This is how the rich in China arrange their wedding motorcade. Prince William only had a Bentley limousine and a Range Rover. I don't even bother to count the number of exotics in this video. Goes to show that money can buy you a lot of things, but respect and class aren't among them.
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