The King and Queen were spotted in their new royal car yesterday as they arrived at church - and it's clear the royals don't shy away from speed. Charles, who has become known for his passion for the environment, has invested in a £160,000 electric Lotus Eletre as he continues to swap his royal fleet of vehicles for green alternatives.
The monarch, 77, and Queen Camilla were driven to St Peter’s Church in Wolferton, Norfolk, for the Sunday morning service in the Lotus, which he placed an order for last year. Chatting to royal fans who had gathered outside the service, Charles joked that his new motor is "silent but deadly".
Before buying the car, the Royal family had a Lotus on loan. It comes after the King last year announced he had fitted electric charging points at his Royal households and bought two new electric BMWs.
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© Geoff RobinsonKing Charles's new Lotus car
The King is believed to be using the 164-mph Lotus, which is painted in Royal Claret, as a run-around on his Royal Sandringham estate.
The Lotus Eletre is an all-electric "hyper-SUV" that combines supercar performance with green credentials.
It boasts a 280-mile range on a single battery, can race from 0-62mph in just 2.95 seconds and is made in Hethel in Norfolk - just a few miles from Sandringham.
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© Geoff RobinsonCushions for Charles and Camilla
He was accompanied by members of staff from the royal household who appeared to be holding rugs and cushions.
The King is known to have a special silk cushion to sit on, which the Daily Mail previously reported is to "ease his back pain, which makes it difficult for him to sit for more than an hour".
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© Getty ImagesKing Charles and his Jaguar in 2018
The King previously used the Royal family’s first all-electric car, an EV400 HSE Jaguar I-Pace, which was delivered in 2018, but the car was auctioned off last year.
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© Getty ImagesKing Charles and his Aston Martin
Back in 2021, it was revealed he had converted his cherished Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante to run on a fuel blend made up of 85% bioethanol and 15% unleaded petrol.
At the time he said: "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."
The Aston Martin was one of the most memorable vehicles in his private collection and was gifted to him on his 21st birthday in 1969 by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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© UK Press via Getty ImagesKing Charles in an electric BMW in June 2025
In July last year, Charles was seen in a state-of-the-art electric BMW which retails for a whopping £170,000 and is thought to boast a 341-mile range on a single battery.
To further aid the transition towards electric cars, electric vehicle chargers were recently installed at Kensington Palace and at the Royal Mews in Marlborough House.
These chargers were also installed in the grounds of Windsor Castle back in 2024.
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© Corbis via Getty ImagesCharles and Camilla arrive at the Guildhall in the Queen's Rolls Royce Phantom for their civil ceremony marriage in 2005
A collection of His Majesty's cars, not including official "state cars" used for royal engagements, is estimated to cost at least £6.3million, according to The Guardian.
At one point, he reportedly had at least three Rolls-Royce Phantoms, painted in Royal Claret.
Commitment to the environment
The King is renowned for his commitment to sustainability and delivered a milestone speech about the environment back in 1970. He warned of the threats from plastic waste and chemicals dumped into rivers and seas, and the "air pollution from smoke and fumes discharged by factories and from gases pumped out by endless cars and aeroplanes".
More recently, he has introduced a number of changes at his royal residences, such as turning down the heating at his swimming pool in Buckingham Palace and installing solar panels at Clarence House and Windsor Castle. He has switched the heating to biomass boilers, while the land at his Highgrove Estate is now an organic farm that strictly limits the use of antibiotics and other harmful chemicals.
At one of his final engagements as the Prince of Wales, the royal said: "One of the reasons I went organic 40 years ago was because I felt there was an overuse of antibiotics. And I felt that if you overdo it, you end up with resistance. Anyway, that's what happened. I was told I was a complete idiot for even suggesting going organic."
In his former role as the Prince of Wales, the King launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative in 2020 to accelerate the world's transition to a sustainable future, ensuring businesses work in favour of people and the planet. The King is also said to avoid waste whenever possible.
