King Charles' Land Rover Discovery 3 sells for just £12k

A 2007 Land Rover Discovery 3, first owned by the then Prince Charles, sells at auction for a very modest £12,050.

We’re used to seeing cars with former ‘celebrity’ owners fetching a premium at auction as buyers seek the cachet of a bit of showbiz glitz attached to their buy and are prepared to pay over the odds to acquire it.

But the premium for celebrity cars doesn’t stop at mere pop and showbiz types, but extends to former ‘Royal’ cars too.

Just last month, we saw a Land Rover Defender 110 first owned by Prince Philip fetch £124k at auction, and back in 2016 a 1954 Aston Martin Lagonda 3.0 litre Drophead Coupe also once owned by Prince Philip sold for a then world record £350,000.

Of course, both Price Philip’s Land Rover and Aston Martin were valuable cars even without the royal link, but what happens when a less desirable ‘Royal’ car comes up for sale?

This week, we found the answer to that when a Land Rover Discovery 3 first owned by the then Prince Charles sold at Collecting Cars.

The 2007 Discovery, delivered to Highgrove House in January 2007, is a 2.7-litre TDV6 in Tonga Green with Black leather, a big spec and 117,000 miles and with provenance in the form of a letter to Charles’ Head Chauffeur from the Director of Royal & Diplomatic Affairs.

Any 2007 Land Rover Discovery 3 in good nick with service history would normally fetch around £6k, but Charles’ Discovery ended up fetching double that – £12,050.

It’s a 100 per cent premium for the cachet, but a very small £6k to say you own the King’s old Disco.