Aston Martin Lagonda welcomed His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, to its new manufacturing facility at St Athan in Wales on Friday. 

The visit was also enjoyed by a group of Aston Martin apprentices and school children from the local area who came along to see the new facility.

Aston Martin Lagonda, St Athan now also bears a plaque, commemorating the Royal visit, which was presented to the team by His Royal Highness. 

During Friday's visit, Aston Martin Lagonda apprentices had the opportunity to talk to The Prince of Wales through the skills and knowledge they've gained during their time as apprentices.

The group has a strong mixture of skills, coming from commercial roles such as marketing and communications, through to manufacturing and engineering. Aston Martin Lagonda currently employs 93 apprentices across its operating sites. 

The final step in the manufacture of every Aston Martin is the application of the marque's iconic wings badge to the car. A very special pre-production DBX received the Royal seal of approval when The Prince of Wales applied its wings.

Aston Martin Lagonda Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman said: "It was an honour to welcome His Royal Highness to St Athan. To have transformed St Athan from a former MOD site to a facility fit for a Royal visit makes us all feel extremely proud. It is well-known that The Prince of Wales is a fan of Aston Martin, so it was a pleasure to be able to show him around the future of the brand here.''

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart said. "Locating this world-class and globally-recognised brand in St Athan is a huge vote of confidence in the Welsh workforce. It is an example of how the UK and Welsh Governments can work together to secure the investment of companies like Aston Martin Lagonda driving economic growth and creating jobs. I look forward to the first made-in-Wales Aston Martins rolling off the production line later this year."

St Athan is the home of Aston Martin's first SUV, the DBX. Upon the commencement of full production at St Athan in the second quarter of 2020, the company will have created up to 600 new highly-skilled jobs, rising to 750.

Since 2016, St Athan has undergone a three-year transformation from Royal Air Force base to the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The completion of the St Athan facility means that it joins the marque's Gaydon headquarters and its Wellesbourne and Newport Pagnell facilities as a centre of the highest quality of British craftsmanship and engineering.