PRINCE Harry and Prince William had extensive careers in the military.
Here we take a look to see if Prince William or Prince Harry ever became qualified helicopter pilots.
Was Prince Harry an RAF pilot?
Harry was never officially in the RAF, but was Honorary Air Commander of RAF Honington – the home of the RAF Regiment.
He marked this on the RAF’s 100th birthday in July 2018 by wearing a No. 1 RAF uniform, with RAF Regiment shoulder flashes.
Instead, Harry served in the British Army for ten years, where he rose to the rank of captain.
He completed two tours in Afghanistan, including a two-month stint in Helmand.
He was then promoted to the rank of lieutenant in The Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) on 13 April 2008.
Did Prince Harry fly Apache helicopters?
In December 2008, Prince Harry passed the Army Air Corps “Classification” and Pilot Selection Board interview to begin training to become an Army Air Corps Pilot in January 2009.
During his time in the Army Air Corps, he was assigned to 662 Squadron, 3rd Regiment of the 16th Air Assault Brigade.
Harry later qualified as an Apache helicopter commander in 2013 after three years of training.
During a five-month tour in Afghanistan, he served as co-pilot gunner – sharing flying duties and taking control of the weapons of the two-man Apache.
He later revealed that he had shot the enemy, saying: “Take a life to save a life.
“If there are people trying to do bad things to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game, I suppose.”
He received the best co-pilot scorer award when he first qualified as an Apache pilot in February 2012.
Is Prince William still an air ambulance pilot?
After leaving operational duties in the Armed Forces, Prince William retrained to become an air ambulance pilot and worked with the East Anglian Air Ambulance in 2015.
But in January 2017, Kensington Palace announced that it would complete its work with its last shift on July 15.
Speaking about his time in service, he said: “It was a great privilege to fly with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
The best thing is that he is a very good driver, so that is encouraging.”
King Charles
“After my time in the military, I have had experiences in this work that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and that will add valuable perspective to my real work for decades to come.”
He continued: “I would like to thank the people of East Anglia for being so supportive of my role and for letting me continue the work when they saw me in the community or in hospitals in our region.
“I would like to especially thank all my colleagues at EAAA, Babcock and Cambridge Airport for their friendship and support.
“I loved being part of a team of professional and talented people who save lives every day. My admiration for our country’s medical and emergency services community could not be greater.”
On May 13, 2024, King Charles handed over the title of Colonel-in-Chief of Prince Harry’s former regiment to Prince William.
Her Majesty declared her eldest son the combat aviation arm of the British Army at a ceremony at the Army Aviation Center in Hampshire.
The King said to the service staff: “I just wanted to say what a great joy it is to be with you.
“But there is also great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all.
“I hope you go from strength to strength in future with the Prince of Wales as its new colonel-in-chief.
“I can’t tell you how proud I was to be involved with you all this time.
“The best thing is that he is a really good driver, which is encouraging.”
There was no mention in his speech to rebellious Harry that if he and his wife Meghan had not stepped down as senior royals, the ceremonial appointment would probably have gone to him.
Harry ‘distressed’ by ‘scorned’ transfer
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun:
There is absolutely no doubt [a snub towards Harry].
I think Harry will be distressed by this.
Without a doubt it is something that he takes very personally, we know what he did for the military family, for the Invictus games, which is a wonderful thing, and of course this was very prominent in their visit, which was private to Nigeria.
But the fact is that the king is appointing someone he trusts as colonel-in-chief.
I mean, this could be generously described as a mess, but it’s a serious problem, because it tends to show that communication has gone completely out of control, and that’s a generous interpretation of that.
Frankly, I can see why the Sussexes aren’t trusted.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
