King Charles and Queen Camilla seen for the first time in their new electric £160,000 Lotus Eletre sportscar that he jokes is ‘silent but deadly’
King Charles and Queen Camilla were spotted for the first time today in their new £160,000 electric Lotus Eletre sports car.
The 77-year-old monarch and Camilla were driven on a Royal Claret motorbike for the Sunday Church service at Sandringham this morning.
A beaming Charles, who ordered the eco car last year, joked to Royal fans gathered outside St Peter’s Church that the Lotus was ‘quiet but deadly’.
The King is believed to use the Lotus, which travels at speeds of up to 164 miles per hour, to tour his Royal Sandringham estate.
The Lotus Eletre is an all-electric ‘hyper SUV’ that combines supercar performance with environmentally friendly features.
It has a range of 280 miles on a single battery, can go from 0-62 mph in just 2.95 seconds, and is manufactured in Hethel, Norfolk, just a few miles from Sandringham.
Before purchasing the car, the Royal family had a Lotus on loan. It comes after the King announced last year that he was installing electric charging points in Royal homes and purchasing two new electric BMWs.
He previously drove the EV400 HSE Jaguar I-Pace, the Royal family’s first all-electric car, delivered in 2018, but the car was sold at auction last year.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were spotted for the first time today in their new £160,000 electric Lotus Eletre sports car.
The 77-year-old monarch and Camilla were driven on a Royal Claret motorbike for the Sunday Church service at Sandringham this morning.
The latest addition to Her Majesty’s garage was hailed by green campaigners last May as a powerful symbol of royal support for electric vehicles; Britain’s car industry in particular is grappling with strict government instructions to switch to electric or face hefty fines.
The king’s taste in automobiles goes far beyond the modern electric age.
He has long been known for his love of classic British engineering and is famous for owning a 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante gifted to him by the Emir of Bahrain. It was auctioned for charity in 1995.
He is still part of the royal fleet, his mother the late Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth’s 21st birthday present was the much-loved Aston Martin DB6 MkII Volante.
In 2008, it was famously converted to run on bioethanol made from ‘wine and cheese’, as the King once quipped. It is actually fermented plant waste.
The King also clearly has an interest in classic Rolls-Royce Phantoms, with at least three of these reportedly kept in the royal stables.
These V8-powered monsters, all painted in Royal Burgundy, include a 1961 Phantom V limousine, formerly a state car, and a 1962 caravan model inherited from the Queen Mother, complete with a retractable rear roof for public views of the King.
There is a fine line between personal ambition and official duty.
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A beaming Charles, who ordered the eco car last year, joked to Royal fans gathered outside St Peter’s Church that the Lotus was ‘quiet but deadly’.
King III. Charles and the Archbishop-elect of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, attended St Peter’s church in Mattins on 25 January 2026
The King is believed to have used the Lotus, which travels at speeds of up to 164 mph, to tour his Royal Sandringham estate
Royal vehicles used on state business remain number plateless, while privately owned motors such as the King’s growing eco-fleet carry DVLA registrations.
Fans note that the decision to purchase the green car is in line with King Charles’ long-standing environmental ethos.
In the summer of 2024, Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, announced that even state Bentleys would soon be adapted to run on biofuels, amid discussions about an all-electric future for the royal fleet.
Lotus, the storied British brand behind King’s latest engine, is 51 percent owned by Chinese giant Geely, which also controls Volvo and the makers of London’s iconic black taxis.
