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Prince George has reportedly taken his first flying lesson© Getty

Prince George enjoys first flying lesson as Prince William and Kate watch - report

The Prince and Princess of Wales's son has long been fascinated by aircraft

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
September 13, 2024
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Prince George has had a love of aviation since he was a toddler, and according to reports, he's just taken his first flying lesson!

The Prince and Princess of Wales's eldest child, 11, flew with an instructor as his parents watched from the ground at White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead, Berks, a 20-minute drive from their Windsor home.

According to The Sun, George enjoyed an hour's lesson at the airfield on the last day of the school summer holidays last week.

The Prince, who is second in line to the throne, then relaxed with William and Kate at the airfield's clubhouse, the West London Aero Club.

According to its website, anyone of any age can learn to fly, but you need to be 16 years old before you can go solo.

George looks likely to follow in the royal family's history of piloting.

Prince George in the cockpit of a Red Arrow© Getty
Prince George in the cockpit of a Red Arrow in 2016

His great-grandfather, Prince Philip, began his flying training in 1952 at White Waltham and received his Royal Air Force wings in 1953.

The Duke of Edinburgh disembarks from a North American Harvard Trainer aircraft after a flight, at RAF White Waltham, Berkshire, where he has been training for his 'wings'© Getty
Prince Philip trained at RAF White Waltham

George's father, Prince William, began training as a Search and Rescue Pilot in 2009. He was first based at RAF Valley in Anglesey in 2010 and undertook routine operational deployment to the Falkland Islands.

He then retrained to become an Air Ambulance Pilot and worked for East Anglian Air Ambulance from March 2015 until July 2017. 

Prince William walking away from an air ambulance© WPA Pool
William worked as a pilot for East Anglian Air Ambulance from 2015 to 2017

Just this week, William shared he would "love to fly helicopters" again as he paid a visit to Wales Air Ambulance headquarters in Llanelli, South Wales on Tuesday.

The future King spoke about how much he missed the role, and suggested he would come back and join the Wales Air Ambulance for a weekend.

"I can't stop talking about helicopters and medical kits and all sorts," William said. "I'm sorry I take ages waffling about it. I miss it all. I'm quite keen to stay a bit longer.

"I'm thinking I might come back for a weekend at some point. I saw the Cardiff team a while ago and said to them I'll come back and join them."

The King is also a fully qualified RAF pilot, while the Duke of York served in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot and instructor.

George's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, was an Apache helicopter pilot and served in the army for ten years, during which he undertook two tours of Afghanistan.

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