William and Kate return to their flying roots when they are given prestigious honors in the Royal Air Force
- William has become the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Valley in Wales
The Prince and Princess of Wales return to their flying roots with new honorary roles in the Royal Air Force.
The Ministry of Defense has announced that William, who qualified as an RAF search and rescue pilot, has become the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Valley in Wales.
He previously spent three years at the base on Anglesey, taking part in 156 search and rescue missions and rescuing 149 people.
The Prince belonged to the 202 Squadron of the RAF and colleagues regarded him as an excellent pilot and as ‘one of the family’.
Although search and rescue operations were privatized in 2016, RAF Valley remains a training facility for fast jet fighter pilots and crews.
The Prince and Princess of Wales (pictured) return to their flying roots with new honorary roles in the Royal Air Force
The Ministry of Defense has announced that William, who qualified as an RAF search and rescue pilot, has become the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Valley in Wales. Pictured: William in 2012
The Princess of Wales meets cadets at the Techno Zone, which aims to inspire young people to discover science and technology
Prince William at the controls of a Sea King helicopter Prince William taking part in a search and rescue exercise in 2011
The latest appointment list released by Buckingham Palace also recognizes the Princess of Wales’s RAF connections.
Kate has taken up the position of Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Coningsby, a title previously held by her husband, who served in the role at the Lincolnshire base for 15 years from 2008.
The Princess has family ties to the RAF as her paternal grandfather served as a fighter pilot during World War II and flew with the late Duke of Edinburgh in the 1960s.
Captain Peter Middleton passed away at the age of 90, just days before the Prince and Princess announced their 2010 engagement.
Captain Middleton was the duke’s co-pilot on flights across South America on a royal tour.
Never-before-seen footage of the princess’s grandfather with the duke surfaced in 2019.
Kate has also become Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm and Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards.
The QDG, the Welsh cavalry regiment, was embroiled in controversy last month when a married senior officer allegedly indulged in sexual relations with two female guests at the regiment’s summer ball. Major Duncan Wiggins is now discharged from the British Army.
Buckingham Palace said: ‘The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the Royal Family.
“The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the armed forces and the royal family.”