Off with his head gasket: Jay Leno, the American talk-show host, has impudently offered the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge some advice over their choice of car. Writing in InGear, Leno claims Prince William should be more patriotic and drive a British marque rather than a German car. “Why are they driving Audis?” he writes. “We have to write to the Queen and say: ‘I’m sorry, but they should be driving a proper British automobile.’ I loved it when they got into the Aston Martin at their wedding. I thought that was fantastic.”
The royal family are fans of the understated German car maker. Prince Charles runs an A8 luxury limo worth £92,500, while William and Prince Harry either own or lease an Audi each. William’s is an S4 saloon worth £23,000, and Harry’s choice is a three-door A3 worth £18,000.
Audi said it did not comment on its individual customers.
For official business the royal family have a fleet of more traditional cars including a custom-built Bentley limousine based on the V8 Arnage. The Queen also owns a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV that she bought in 1950 — two years before becoming monarch — while Charles generally favours the Aston Martin DB6, converted to run on biofuel, that he lent his son on his wedding day.
Audi has a close relationship with the royals. The company regularly hosts a polo tournament that pitches the princes against an Audi-sponsored team made up of stars of the sport. This year’s event took place in May and attracted celebrities including Charlize Theron, the Hollywood actress.
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Leno’s comments come as William and his wife Kate begin their first official overseas trip. The couple landed in Canada last week and will fly on to America this week. It is unclear whether they will appear on Leno’s programme, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno — the most watched late-night chat show in America — although the host isn’t banking on it. “They will probably run me over in the Audi,” he said.