PRINCE William received his RAF wings from his proud father yesterday after completing an intensive flying course.
After more than 12 weeks' training, the young royal became the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot.
At a ceremony at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, the Prince of Wales awarded his son his wings as the Duchess of Cor
nwall looked on.
Among William's guests was his girlfriend Kate Middleton, in her first appearance with the prince at a major official event since the young royal – a serving officer in the British Army – graduated from Sandhurst in December 2006.
The prince, who is the future head of the armed forces, showed his support for current servicemen by donning a Help For Heroes wristband. The bright blue and red band could be seen poking out of his uniform at the ceremony.
The charity was set up in October 2007 to support troops injured in Iraq and Afghanistan and aims to raise £6 million to build a swimming pool and gym complex at the soldier rehabilitation centre in Headley Court, Surrey. So far it has raised £4 million. The charity also has the backing of General Sir Richard Dannatt, the current head of the British Army.
William has followed in the footsteps of Charles and his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who both earned the RAF flying badge. The prince's great-grandfather, George VI, was the first royal to serve in the RAF, between 1918 and 1919.
In a speech to the graduates at Cranwell, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, chief of the air staff, said: "This is probably one of the most significant milestones in an aviator's career …
At the moment we have the highest level of operation commitment that I have seen in the last 30 years. But what I can say is that the training we give you is the best I've ever seen."
After a short private reception with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Miss Middleton attended a drinks reception, where she was seen chatting to Prince William, other graduates and senior staff at RAF Cranwell.
Later in the afternoon, William joined his father and Camilla to view a display of historic planes and other aircraft on an airfield nearby. The trio spent a short time looking at the assorted planes and a helicopter, but the star attraction was a bright red Chipmunk T10 trainer plane, which Charles learnt to fly 40 years ago.
William spent his initial flying training at RAF Cranwell and was able to fly solo just eight days into his course. He went on to fly a fast Tucano propeller-driven plane and later Squirrel helicopters. The final few weeks of his attachment to the RAF will see the prince visit a number of front-line units.
In May, he will undertake a number of official engagements, then has a period of leave before beginning his attachment with the Royal Navy in June.
The full article contains 497 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
