The Royal Plane is no stranger to important guests, having been a part of the family since the Queen was a little girl. Over the years it has seen the family welcome several royal children, including Prince William and Prince Harry. As part of Channel 5’s ‘Secrets of the Royal Flight’ staff who worked on board the Royal Plane have revealed exactly what it was like to fly with the two little princes. It turns out they were just as boisterous as you might expect.
Frequent fliers on the Royal Plane, William and Harry are the only two children of heir to the throne Prince Charles, and often accompanied their parents on royal duties.
Now, staff onboard the Royal Plane have offered an insight into exactly what the pair were like as little boys.
The narrator of the documentary points out that: “It’s all well and good flying a well behaved Prince Charles or Duke of Edinburgh, but two boys under 10 were a very different story. “
It is well known that Charles and Diana worked hard to give the boys as normal an upbringing as possible, with William being the first royal to go to kindergarten, and both boys going to school with other children rather than receiving a private tutor.
The revelation from royal staff proves that their upbringing worked, with both of them just as fun-loving and mischievous as you might expect two little boys to be.
Graham Laurie, Pilot of the Queen’s Flight between 1981-1995 said: “We had the delight of flying the young Prince William and Prince Harry and, of course, like all youngsters, they were all over the aircraft.”
Meanwhile, Dave Wright, the solo Air Steward serving the Royal’s onboard from 1990-1995, told a particular anecdote that reveals the young princes had a bit of a sweet tooth.
He said: “The boys knew where the sweets were kept and they would fill their pockets full of sweets.
“You could see their pockets were bulging.”
The documentary also reveals that it wasn’t just the children the flight staff had to occupy.
The Queen, renowned for her love of dogs, often brought along her beloved pets for the journey.
taff on board the Royal Plane certainly had their hands full, with the Queen having owned more than 30 corgis since she was crowned.
Former Navigator of the Queen’s Flight, Bob Shields, said: “The household member of staff would be seen taking the dogs to the grass and pleading with the dogs to please do their business before they went on board the aeroplane.
“I am delighted to say we never had one accident.”
