A royal car (and carriage) show

MANILA, Philippines—As photos of the recent royal wedding of Kate and William have appeared on the papers and in the Internet, car buffs enjoyed a plethora of classic cars including a rare 1969 Aston Martin Volante DB6 Mk II, which Prince William used to bring his new wife after the wedding. All the British marques showed up for the occasion, from the XJL Jaguar used by the Middletons en route to church, to the Range Rovers used by the security detail, the classic Aston Martin of Prince Charles used by Prince William and the coach-built Bentleys and Rolls Royce state cars used by the royal family.

Understandably, there wasn’t any Audi, Mercedes or BMW on site. Ironically, the Germans now own Bentley and Rolls Royce while the Land Rover and Jaguar brands are now owned by an Indian company (India was a former British colony). All this plus the famous century-old 1902 State Landau carriage used by the newlyweds for the post-wedding procession. This was the same carriage used by Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana on their wedding day in 1981.

BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s Prince Philip ride back to Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn carriage. AP

Bride’s ride to the wedding

As the first commoner to be married to a British royal in over 300 years, Kate Middleton arrived in a car and left off on a royal carriage as a princess. The coach-built 1978 Rolls Royce Phantom VI from the royal stable, used to fetch her and her dad Michael, was in pristine condition. The car sustained some damage last year by student protesters who threw rocks and paint but was quickly restored in time for this occasion.

Other royal rides

The Queen and Prince Phillip arrived in a custom-built Bentley with a bullet-proof overhead bubble glasswork modified by British coachbuilders. The Queen’s transport was a coach-built Bentley that was presented to HRH in 2002 on her Golden Jubilee. This car, together with another Bentley used by Prince William and Harry, was a fully customized Bentley Arnage model with a 6.75-liter V-8 engine that had been stretched by about 40 inches longer.

These Bentleys total 6.22 meters in length with a wheelbase of 3.84 meters, which is about 1.3 meters longer than a typical sedan. These were the first two Bentleys of the royals. All state cars are painted in royal claret livery and they do not have registration number plates. The royal state car collection includes two Bentleys, three Rolls-Royces and three Daimlers.

Father of the groom’s limo

The car used by Prince Charles, and wife Camilla was the oldest car in the fleet of state cars. The Queen’s Rolls-Royce Phantom IV was built in 1950. This was the first Rolls Royce for the royals and only a handful were built (18 in total). Before that, the royals used Daimler vehicles right after cars became in fashion.

A very green Royal Convertible

After leaving Buckingham Palace for the royal residence Clarence House, the royal couple drove off in a Seychelles blue convertible Aston Martin DB6 Mk II owned by his father, Prince Charles. This rare 1969 classic runs on 85 percent bio-ethanol (E85). Its 6-cylinder engine was engineered to run on sustainable fuel last June 2008 at the request of Prince Charles. This car was a gift given by the Queen to Prince Charles on his 21st birthday. This convertible is one of just 38 that were built with the high-performance 4.0-liter, 325 hp. straight six. The Prince insisted to have it converted to run on ethanol made from wine.

KATE Middleton and her father Michael travel in a Rolls Royce. AFP

In the last five years, collectible Aston Martin prices have risen by an average of about 40 percent. The Prince’s DB6 Mk II model gained even much higher, from an average market price of about $380,000 its estimated market value is now about $800,000. Aside from its stunning good looks, it was probably largely influenced by the car enthusiast’s penchant for the classic “James Bond” Aston Martin, the DB5 coupe version, which was recently sold for a staggering value of $4.6 million at RM Auctions in London last October. The DB5 appeared in the 1964 James Bond movie “Goldfinger.”

The Royal Carriages

After the wedding service at Westminster Abbey, the royal couple used the 1902 State Landau along the processional route to Buckingham Palace. The 1902 State Landau was specifically built for King Edward VII in 1902 and was originally intended to be used at his Coronation. Nowadays, it is the carriage usually used by The Queen to meet foreign heads of state when they arrive on state visits to Britain. According to the Royal senior carriage restorer, Martin Oates, it was the vehicle “everybody wants to see. It has been used over the years as the bridal carriage. This was the carriage that Diana and Sarah Ferguson used to go from Clarence House to their churches.” Adorned with gold leaf and upholstered in crimson satin, it is normally drawn by six horses but only four were used for the royal wedding.

A total of five horse-drawn carriages joined the procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. Aside from the wedding carriage, the second and third carriages were Ascot Landaus carrying the Best Man, Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids. The fourth carriage was a Semi-State Landau carrying The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.