If there’s one thing we know to be true, it’s that vintage never goes out of style.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall recently proved this to be true when they turned heads at the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, arriving in a vintage Aston Martin DB6.
Prince Charles originally bought the now classic car in 1970. After decades of ownership, and with rising awareness of environmental impacts over the years, Prince Charles later decided to convert the car to run on biofuels – in this case, cheese and wine. Well, ethanol created from cheese-making whey and wine unfit for human consumption, technically.
Carried out by Aston Martin specialist RS Williams, the conversion process was not an easy one. In 2018, Prince Charles told Wallpaper magazine, “It was difficult. I even tried to get the Royal Train to run on old chip fat. It seemed that other countries were way ahead of us on alternative fuels, but we then discovered a splendid company near here who specialise in turning waste products into fuels.”
To the delight of Prince Charles, running on cheese ended up making an already fast car even faster. “Don’t ask me to explain how it all works,” he said. “I am more of a tinkerer than an engineer.”
This is not the first major appearance for the charcuterie-powered vehicle. Bedecked in ribbons, balloons, and a license plate reading “JU5T WED”, the Aston Martin carried Prince William and Kate Middleton off after their wedding in 2011.
The Commonwealth Games occur every four years and bring together multi-sport athletes from around the Commonwealth of Nations. This year, the Games are being held in Birmingham, England, explaining the royal attendance.
Prince Charles, 73, and Camilla, 75, opened the games on behalf of his mother Queen Elizabeth, amidst ongoing mobility issues.
Prince Charles read a special message from the Queen: “Over the years, the coming together of so many for the ‘Friendly Games’ has created memorable shared experiences, established long-standing relationships, and even created some friendly rivalries! But above all they remind us of our connection with one another, wherever we may be in the world, as part of the Commonwealth family of nations.”
— Hayley Santaflorentina
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