Royal Photographer Chris Jackson Reveals the Homage to James Bond Hidden in King Charles’s Car

Even King Charles III can't avoid the allure of 007, and as it turns out, the British monarch has an homage to James Bond on the inside of his beloved Aston Martin car: an eject button.

Frequent royal photographer, Chris Jackson, recently sat down with the co-hosts of the Royally Obsessed podcast, Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito, to discuss his new photobook, Charles III: A King and His Queen, which hits shelves on April 18. While discussing his book in the new episode, Jackson got on the conversation of the king's beloved Aston Martin.

The royal lensman snapped a few photos of King Charles with his car back in the summer of 2018. In the photos, which Jackson shared to his Instagram in 2020 (seen above), we see the monarch posing with his vintage blue vehicle. Then, in the third photo, we see the bright red eject button which King Charles had installed on the center console.

In his caption, Jackson discussed the special DB6, noting that King Charles upgraded the car to be more eco-friendly. “I’m with the Prince of Wales at @astonmartinlagonda in South Wales today,” Jackson wrote in February 2020. “As a big advocate of more environmentally friendly travel the Prince had the car retrofitted by experts at Aston Martin with a new fuel source. The car is now powered by cheese and wine! Well, more specifically bio-ethanol made from the by-products of wine waste and cheese whey. Clearly a Bond fan the car even has an ejector seat fitted (scroll right). Here I photographed the Prince on a slightly warmer and sunnier day with the car at his Gloucestershire country house @highgrovegarden.”

The royal documentarian commented on this photoshoot during his stop by Royally Obsessed, saying (around the 29-minute mark): “There's a few of those details which, you know, many people don't know about—the eject button in his car, that runs on cheese and wine, by the way.” Jackson also added, “There's a certain element of James Bond when he's driving that car, and of course, the eject button, which as I mentioned, I was too scared to press.”

When asked if the eject button actually works, Jackson laughed and said, “I don't know—maybe!”

In the synopsis for Jackson's new book, Charles III: A King and His Queen, it reads: “Getty Images Royal Photographer Chris Jackson has accompanied the British royal family on tours and engagements throughout the world. This book celebrates the life of King Charles on the historic occasion of his accession to the throne.”

We can't wait to peruse all the photos in this brand-new book and get a peek into the life of the monarch.

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