Last year, His Majesty The King awarded Aston a special honor that few automakers have received.
As the preferred motorcar for the titular character in the James Bond films, the sports cars made by legendary manufacturer Aston Martin have been an unrelenting symbol of modern Britannia. However, the brand will now celebrate its newfound elite status with the British Royal Family for the first time in its storied history with a unique distinction in its forward-facing branding.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin announced today, April 2, that it will display a Royal Warrant by Appointment to His Majesty The King, an elite status granted to firms that serve the royal family. The automaker was awarded the Royal Warrant last year; however, Aston Martin said in a statement that it decided to wait until the College of Arms made a new Royal Crest for King Charles III.
What that means is that for the first time in its rich 112-year history of making high-performance sports cars, the wings of Aston Martin will sit next to the royal crest of the British monarch, a high honor amongst firms that do business in the country. According to the Royal Warrant Holders Association, over 800 companies hold Royal Warrants for their services to members of the Royal Family.
For those unaware, or for those who live outside the British Isles and Commonwealth, Royal Warrants hold an extremely special distinction for companies that do business in Great Britain. For centuries, the British Monarchs and some senior members of the Royal Family have granted Royal Warrants, which show to the public that a specific company supplied goods and services so good that they are of a caliber of quality acceptable for the royals themselves.
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To ordinary citizens and car enthusiasts, it may seem as if Aston Martin is showing off some sort of a ‘royal seal of approval.’ However, its CEO Adrian Hallmark says it is much, much more than that, especially for a company like Aston Martin.
“Our appointment by His Majesty represents a truly proud and historic moment for Aston Martin, reinforcing the longstanding and esteemed relationship we hold with the Royal Family,” Hallmark said in a statement.
“Displayed with pride across our branding, the Royal Warrant is a testament to the dedication of our employees and our unwavering commitment to the values of British design, craftsmanship, and engineering excellence. Principles that His Majesty has steadfastly championed.”
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The King’s Aston
King Charles III has been a member of the Aston Martin Owners Club since 1973. The company has held special distinction with a Royal Warrant as a Motor Car Manufacturer and Repairer since 1982, when he was then known as His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. However, it now carries the arms of the sovereign for the first time.
The King’s DB6 Volante Series II is perhaps the most famous Aston belonging to the Royal Family. The Seychelles Blue convertible is a particularly special one to His Majesty the King, as it was a 21st birthday present from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. It was also the first of multiple Aston Martins in his collection, including a 1994 Aston Martin Virage Volante. In 2011, then-Prince Charles showed off to the BBC that it runs on a special blend of E85 biofuel produced on the Duchy of Cornwall estate.
“My old Aston Martin, which I’ve had for 51 years, runs on — can you believe this — surplus English white wine, and whey from the cheese process,” he said then.
In a separate 2018 interview with The Telegraph, the King noted that engineers at Aston Martin were not keen on the conversion, noting that they advised him “it’ll ruin the whole thing.” However, His Majesty doesn’t take no for an answer. He told the paper that after the work had been done, the same Aston engineers admit “that it runs better and is more powerful on that fuel than it is on petrol.”
The Royal Family’s association with Aston, however, runs deep, as many distinct members have owned some of the firm’s fine sports cars. In 1954, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, bought a 3-litre Lagonda Drophead Coupe, which was used to ferry the Monarch to school when he was a child. The next year, the Duke of Kent, the cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, bought the 1955 Monte Carlo rally-winning DB2/4.
More recently, the King, as Prince of Wales, His Majesty was on hand to officially open Aston Martin’s manufacturing facility in St Athan, Wales in 2020, where production of the DBX was the first production car built in the region in more than 50 years.
Additionally, the King’s DB6 Volante was the unsung star of the Royal Wedding between William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, in 2011, when they whizzed away from Buckingham Palace following a reception there. In 2022, the same car provided a grand entrance for The King and Queen to the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In 2024, the Royal drip-top was proudly displayed alongside 75 other classic Aston Martins at the royal residence at Sandringham during a gathering of the Aston Martin Owners Club.
Aston Martin joins an elite club of automakers in being awarded a royal warrant. Other royal warrant holders include Bentley Motors, Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover. Jaguar Land Rover is the only automaker to have been awarded all three Royal Warrants from Her Majesty the Queen, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.