Key findings

• King Charles & Camilla are the most eco-friendly Royals

• William & Kate are the least eco-friendly Royals emitting 12 tonnes per year

• The Royals own 33 cars currently - only 12.1% electric

• Royal Family’s CO2 emissions are the same as 2,047 cars on UK roads, per year

King Charles is an advocate for the environment and owns a couple of environmentally-friendly cars, as he tries to do his bit to reduce his carbon footprint, but what about the rest of the Royal Family and their car collections? Are they as green and forward-thinking as the King and what could their car collections look like if they all had to convert to EVs in the near future, with the 2030 fuel ban quickly approaching?

The Royals’ current cars

Our research suggests that the Royal Family (consisting of King Charles & The Queen Consort, Camilla, The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Prince and Princess of Sussex and the ceremonial and state cars) currently own around 33 cars total. However, only 12.1% of the Royals’ motors are electric, with only one hybrid vehicle.

This is certainly better than nothing, but due to the number of official visits the Royals attend each year, it could be a lot more.

The Royal emissions

In this piece we’re essentially asking the question, “How Would It Look If The Royals Went Fully Electric?” But why?

We recently came across an article on CNN, which cited the Royal Family’s Annual Report. It highlighted that the Royal Family’s CO2 emission for business travel was 3,344 tonnes, thanks to 3,200 official engagements carried out by the Royal Family across the United Kingdom and overseas. 

This was a rise of 98.2% in just one year compared to 1,687 tonnes of CO2 emission in 2018.

3,344 tonnes is a lot. According to NimbleFinns, “the average car drives 7,600 miles per year in the UK and releases 1,682,383 grams (1.682383 tonnes) of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. So, on those figures, the Royal Family’s carbon dioxide emissions are the same as 2,047 cars on UK roads, per year. Granted, the Royal Family’s emissions include overseas visits, which include plane travel, but it’s still a very high number.

Expensive too. According to the BBC, over a single year (ending 31st March 2019), official travel cost £2.7m overall, with King Charles’ travel expenses, then Prince of course, totalling £1,128,753. Around 40.1% of the overall amount.

Top 10 least eco-friendly Royal vehicles

Let’s take a look at some of the “Royal Fleet” that have the most emissions.

Cars	Emissions (g/km)	Emissions Per Year (tonnes)
Bentley Flying Spur	288	3.52
Audi R8	287	3.51
Audi RS6 Avant	263	3.22
Audi A8 Limousine (L)	248	3.03
Land Rover Discovery	219	2.68
Audi RS5 Coupe	199	2.43
2012 Jaguar XJ Limousine 1	189	2.31
2012 Jaguar XJ Limousine 2	189	2.31
Audi A5 Sportback	184	2.25
State Hearse	184	2.25

Out of the entire fleet, the Royals’ Bentley Flying Spurs is the lead emission producer, churning out 3.52 tonnes per year, if it were to be driven the UK’s average mileage. This is closely followed by William & Kate’s Audi R8 at 3.51 tonnes and Harry & Meghan’s Audi RS6 Avant at 3.22 tonnes per year.

Charles & Camilla are the most eco-friendly Royals

However, it’s not all bad news for the new King. According to our data, the King and Queen Consort currently would only produce around 2.68 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year if their current fleet drove the same mileage as the average UK driver per year - the lowest of the royal couples we analysed - but it still would be around one tonne more than the average UK driver. 

Having said that, Charles and Camilla have made steps to lower their emissions. Currently, their car collection includes a Jaguar I-PACE, which is fully electric, and also - Charles’ favourite - a vintage Aston Martin DB6 Volante, which he’s converted to run on E85 bioethanol fuel, or as the King puts it “runs on wine and cheese”.

William & Kate are the least eco-friendly Royals

At the other end of the spectrum are the Prince and Princess of Wales. Our data shows that their current car collection, which consists of four ICE Audis and a Range Rover, would emit around 12 tonnes per year, using the same methodology. This is nearly four-and-a-half times the emissions of the King and Queen Consort.

How Would It Look If The Royals Went Fully Electric?

Aside from the King and Queen Consort’s Jaguar I-PACE and the wine and cheese-fuelled Aston MArtinDB6 Volante, plus Harry & Meghan’s Audi e-tron, all their other cars still run on petrol or diesel. So, how would it look if the Royal Family converted all their cars to electric? 

King Charles III & The Queen Consort Camilla

Currently, the King & Queen Consort own three cars (not including the Royal state and ceremonial vehicles). These include a Land Rover Discovery (ICE) a Jaguar I-PACE (EV) and Charles’ Aston Martin DB6 Volante, which we’ll class as a hybrid for this piece.

If they were to convert their collection to be more eco-friendly, King Charles would have to get rid of his beloved DB6. However, it could mean we’d have the potential opportunity of seeing the King in a new Aston Martin, and what better than a new DB Volante? According to Aston Martin, their current range is getting an electric edition by the end of 2024, which means Charles could be racing around Sandringham in an electric Aston Martin DB11, which we’d love to see! 

As for the Land Rover Discovery, it’s likely the King & Queen Consort will use their I-PACE when they need a bigger car, so what else would they acquire? Well, the Royal Family seem to favour german-made cars, with 11 of their current 33 cars (including state and ceremonial cars) split between Audis and BMWs. So, instead of giving them another one from Audi or BMW, we’ve opted for the Porsche Taycan, another car similar in shape to Charles’ favoured Aston, just with a bit more room inside and increased accessibility. The King and Queen Consort Camilla could also save as much as 2.68 tonnes worth of emissions in the process.

The Prince & Princess of Wales

As stated earlier, William and Kate have the most CO2 emissions in the Royal Family, and that’s due, in part, to the fact that they’re the only Royal Family members that do not currently have an EV in their car collection. It all results in a whopping 11.97 tonnes of emissions per year if they were to drive the average UK mileage.

Their current collection consists of four Audis (R8, A5 Sportback, S3 and A3) as well as a Range Rover. Again, reaffirms the Royal Family’s love of German-manufactured cars.

Converting their collection to electric is pretty simple, thanks mostly to Audi’s commitment to greener vehicles. Similar to Aston Martin, Land Rover has also said they’re going to produce electric versions of their current range, meaning in the not-too-distant future, the Range Rover will have an electric version that William and Kate can convert to. The RS could also be switched for a new and improved electric version, which Audi has teased for a 2025 release. Audi’s e-tron GT quattro would be a suitable replacement for the A5 Sportback, with the remaining Audis replaced with an Audi’s RS e-tron GT and an SQ8 Sportback e-tron, perfect for a growing family.

The Duke & Duchess of Sussex

Continuing the trend, Harry and Meghan’s car collection is also dominated by Audis. Currently, the Duke & Duchess have an e-tron, RS6 Avant, RS5 Coupe, Audi S3 and, you guessed it, a Range Rover, with a total of 9.86 tonnes of emissions per year.

With an e-tron in his collection, Harry one-ups his Royal older brother in the eco-friendliness leaderboard, but the remaining collection needs to be replaced. With a growing family also, the Duke & Duchess will likely require slightly bigger cars than they currently have.  With this in mind, a suitable choice would be a Q8 e-tron and a Q4 e-tron to replace their RS6 and RS5 and the RS e-tron GT to give them the pace and performance they need to make a quick getaway from the paparazzi. Again, the Range Rover can be swapped for the electric version, estimated to arrive in 2024.

Methodology

We found the Royal Family’s car collections by reading and researching numerous news articles and official documents, which provided us with an estimated total figure. We then used the average mileage and CO2 emissions highlighted by NimbleFins to calculate the Royal Family’s emissions, if they were to travel the same distance. For the car conversions, we simply replaced the cars based on future models hinted at by car manufacturers as well so like-for-like replacements, where possible.