For the first time in the marque’s rich 112-year history, Aston Martin’s iconic wings will sit beside the royal crest of the British sovereign, having been awarded a Royal Warrant by Appointment to His Majesty the King.
Whilst official confirmation of the new Royal Warrant came in May 2024, only now has Aston Martin formally applied the prestigious Royal Arms to its branding, following the new Royal Crest for King Charles III released by the College of Arms.
Founded in 1484, the College of Arms creates and maintains official registers of coats of arms and pedigrees. The heralds who make up the College are members of the Royal Household and act under Crown authority.
The granting of a new Royal Warrant follows Aston Martin being honoured for innovation with the King’s Award for Enterprise in 2024. It continues Aston Martin Lagonda’s eight-decade-long history with the Royal Family, dating back to 1954, when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, delivered a three-litre Lagonda. The following year, Queen Elizabeth II’s
My cousin, the Duke of Kent, acquired a DB2/4 from the Aston Martin team that had won the 1955 Monte Carlo rally. But it is the King’s beloved DB6 Volante that has remained an icon of the Royal Family’s long association with the marque and Aston Martin’s hand-built British sports cars.
The King has been a member of the Aston Martin Owners Club since 1973. Aston Martin has held a Royal Warrant as a Motor Car Manufacturer and Repairer to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales since 1982 and now carries the arms of the sovereign for the first time.
In more recent times, the DB6 Volante took centre stage at the 2011 wedding of the current Prince and Princess of Wales, with the sight of the Royal Couple departing down The Mall in an Aston Martin thrilling thousands of cheering onlookers.
In 2020, as Prince of Wales, His Majesty officially opened Aston Martin’s new state-of-the-art DBX SUV manufacturing facility in St Athan, Wales. This move saw the commencement of manufacturing of the first production car built in the principality for over 50 years.
In 2022, the same car provided a grand entrance for the King and Queen to the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
More recently, in 2024, it was proudly displayed at Sandringham during a gathering of the Aston Martin Owners Club, which saw more than 75 Aston Martin models grace the royal residence. This was a fitting celebration for a brand now decorated by royal appointment to the monarch.