The royal wedding turned out to be another royal occasion for Rolls-Royce.
A vintage version of the most storied British car brand was the luxury vehicle that delivered Meghan Markle to St. George's Chapel in Windsor, England, to exchange vows with Prince Harry.
A chance to show off the brand to a world audience couldn't have come at a better time. Rolls-Royce is not only promoting the new, latest version of its hulking Phantom sedan, but also has unveiled its first modern SUV, the $325,000 Cullinan. Getting its name out once again in front of the world's richest people -- from Mideast sheiks to dot-com billionaires -- and being associated with the youth and vitality that goes with the royal wedding is a publicist's dream.
As is characteristic for the brand, Rolls-Royce is playing it cool.
"This isn't our occasion. It's the couple's occasion," said U.S. spokesman Gerry Spahn. The couple is part of a new generation that understands that Rolls-Royce is part of "the best of Great Britain" and they indulge in it "with modern flair."
The U.S. is the largest market for Rolls-Royce, making up about a third of its global sales.
The car that ferried Meghan Markle to her wedding in style was part of the Queen's stable of British luxury cars. The car appeared to be the 1950 Rolls-Royce Royal Phantom IV, with a body by H.J. Mulliner, that Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, used for the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
What is it about Rolls-Royce?
The brand couldn't be more famously British, the standard over the world for luxury. Though it is now owned by Germany's BMW, Roll-Royce goes to lengths to maintain its direct connection to the U.K. Its headquarters and factory, where many of the cars are essentially hand-built, is in Goodwood, England.
Though Rolls-Royce traces its history to the start of the last century, it says that its association with the royal family didn't really begin until the 1950s. Until then, they had been driving vehicles from Germany's Daimler, parent of Mercedes-Benz and super-luxury brand Maybach.
"Rolls-Royce is a mark of British pride," Spahn said. "It is a brand that is a superlative."
For Saturday's wedding, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip used another of their state cars, a Bentley, a brand that once was the more discreet corporate cousin to the Rolls and nowadays separately owned by Volkswagen.