Prince George marked an impressive milestone recently as he followed in a royal tradition – but it’s unlikely that his late great-grandmother would have approved
Prince George really is a chip off the old block! The young royal is following in his father’s footsteps with his latest daring hobby – and his parents couldn’t be prouder.
It’s been reported that George has been taking flying lessons, and as the summer holidays came to a close, he took to the skies for his very first flight in the pilot’s seat. William and Kate were there watching on as he made his debut from White Waltham Airfield near Maidenhead, which lies just ten miles from the family’s Windsor home.
An onlooker at the airfield told The Sun: “He loved it. It’s the right time to start.” Another noted, “The Royal Family has a proud tradition of flying and it looks like George is next in line. His parents watched George take flight from the safety of the ground but he flew with an instructor and loved it.”
Young pilots can start learning to fly at any age, but training hours that count towards a licence start from the age of 14. Students must be accompanied by an instructor until they’re 16, and must be guided through a minimum of 45 flying hours and pass nine theoretical exams before they can hold a licence and carry passengers from the age of 17.
George comes from a long line of pilots. His late great-grandfather Prince Philip also learned how to fly at White Waltham back in 1952. Prince William, meanwhile, earned his wings after flight training at Royal Air Force Cranwell in 2008, and when his son was born in 2013, was serving as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglia Air Ambulance service. George’s maternal grandfather Michael Middleton was also a pilot with British European Airways before he worked as a flight dispatcher.
There’s no doubt George has picked up his love of aviation from his father, who is the colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps. “The great thing is, he’s a very good pilot indeed!” said King Charles, when he handed over the role to his son. But George’s late great-grandmother might not have approved. In 2022, it was reported by Daily Mail that the Queen repeatedly asked William not to fly helicopters, or pilot in general, because she was afraid that if something happened, it would “threaten the line of succession”.
An insider said, “It keeps the Queen awake at night, and she is understandably very worried. She knows William is a capable pilot but does not think it is worth the risk for all five of them to carry on flying together and can’t imagine what would happen. It would spark a constitutional crisis.”
Indeed, George will soon be impacted by a royal rule that will prevent him from flying with his father altogether, in order to protect the royal lineage. The tradition was put in place in the event of a catastrophic plane crash, ensuring that an heir to the throne is always protected and the monarchy remains stable. Speaking on HELLO Magazine’s ‘A Right Royal Podcast’, King Charles ‘ former pilot, Graham Laurie, opened up about the rule and how it affected a young Prince William when he turned 12 in 1994. George will celebrate his 12th birthday in July next year.
He told the hosts: “Interestingly, we flew all four: the Prince, the Princess, Prince William and Prince Harry , up until Prince William was 12 years old. After that, he had to have a separate aircraft and we could only fly all four together when they were young with the written permission of Her Majesty. When William became 12, he would fly normally in a 125 from Northolt and we would fly the 146 out with the other three on.”
