Prince Charles Drives Himself to Commonwealth Games in a Vintage Car...That Runs on Cheese and Wine!

David Ramos/Getty Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles at the Commonwealth Games

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall know how to arrive in style!

The royal heir made quite an entrance when he drove his vintage Aston Martin into the arena at the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games on Thursday evening. The ride is eco-friendly, as it's powered by bioethanol sourced from wine and cheese by-products.

Prince Charles, who has been a longstanding proponent of sustainable living, bought the car in 1970 and later converted it to run on biofuels, using ethanol created from cheese-making whey and wine unfit for human consumption. The fuel apparently inspired a cheesy joke from Charles's cousin Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's son David: "How does Prince Charles drive his Aston Martin? Caerphilly."

Aston Martin specialist RS Williams carried out the car's conversion, Charles told Wallpaper in 2018. "At first, the engineers weren't convinced that the conversion would work, but I insisted that it would. When the conversion was done, they had to admit that the car now performs better than ever."

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The Aston Martin DB6 car is also famous for an appearance at a royal wedding: Charles' son Prince William used it to drive his bride Kate Middleton away from their nuptials in 2011.

Their ride was decorated in ribbons and balloons with a rear number plate that read "JU5T WED" as the couple drove off with the top down.

Prince Charles, 73, and Camilla, 75, were at the official opening of the Commonwealth Games, which bring together the countries of the Commonwealth for a multi-sport contest. Cars, a traditionally crucial industry for the West Midlands of the U.K. where the games are based this year, were a theme of the opening ceremony that also saw local pop band Duran Duran perform.

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At the ceremony, Charles read a special message from his mother Queen Elizabeth, who had written it and included it in the baton that was relayed across the Commonwealth over the last nine months in the run-up to the games.

"Over the years, the coming together of so many for the 'Friendly Games' has created memorable shared experiences, established long-standing relationships, and even created some friendly rivalries! But above all they remind us of our connection with one another, wherever we may be in the world, as part of the Commonwealth family of nations," she wrote.

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The Games last until August 8. Next week, Prince William and Kate are expected to attend a day of the competition.

Charles's brother Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex watched some rugby on Friday, along with Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence.