The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed she has taken flying lessons following in the footsteps of many family members.
Earlier this week, as she and Prince William showed support for the London Poppy Appeal, Kate told a group of RAF officers that she had been taking lessons in a fixed-wing aircraft.
“My grandfather [the late RAF pilot Peter Middleton] flew planes,” she told the officers. “I’ve had a few lessons on a fixed wing.”
The Duchess follows husband Prince William and brother-in-law Prince Harry who are both pilots. Harry took flying lessons in fixed wing planes in 2008 when he was at the Army Air Corps base in Middle Wallop, Hampshire.
William, who married Kate in 2011, has just recently left his position of a search-and-rescue pilot in Anglesey after seven years. The Prince graduated in September 2010, before his pilot role saw him on a tour of duty on the North Wales island.
Michael Middleton, the Duchess’ father also was a dispatcher for British Airways before he and wife Carole, a former airline hostess, started their own business.
The Duchess of Cambridge made the comments as she and William spent Thursday morning meeting London Poppy Appeal volunteers.
Kate looked regal in a red LK Bennet coat as she and William surprised commuters at High Street Kensington station.
The royal couple took the journey to the busy station in a classic 1960s London Routemaster bus, where they were joined by Eastenders actress Barbara Windsor and poppy sellers.
William joked he was enjoying the journey: “It’s very sociable, although I suppose everyone’s got their earphones in.”
Thursday’s surprise appearance comes as both William and Kate have announced upcoming engagements for later this month.
Prince William will be joined by Kate when they visit the charity Only Connect’s head office in London on November 19. The royal parents will speak to staff at the charity which focuses on crime prevention and hear how the organisation supports ex-offenders and those who are at risk of offending.
A week later on November 26, the new father will host Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift at Kensington Palace for Centrepoint’s Winter Whites Gala.
The Duchess of Cambridge will also go solo when she attends Place2Be’s ‘Resilience and Emotional Strength in Schools’ forum at the offices of Clifford Chance in Canary Wharf, on November 20.
photo credit: Beacon Radio via photopin cc
