The Princess of Wales travelled to Lincolnshire where she visited RAF Coningsby today – her first visit to the base of which she is royal honorary air commodore
The Princess of Wales visits RAF Coningsby
The Princess of Wales took the controls of a fighter jet simulator and performed a loop-the-loop as she met pilots on the front line of the UK’s air defences.
Kate visited RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire today, where she also gamely climbed narrow stairs in navy stilettos to peer inside the cockpit of a fully armed RAF Typhoon. And she also revealed how her youngest son, Prince Louis, is keen to become a fighter pilot, but added: “I’m going to tell them (her children) it takes eight years and a lot of hard work.” The future Queen’s visit to the RAF base was her first since she became Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby in August 2023.
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She began her visit with a private briefing from Group Captain Paul O’Grady and Warrant Officer Nikki Nolan. She learned about the base’s involvement in Operation Shader in the Middle East and Operation Eastern Sentry, which is helping to boost NATO presence along its Eastern flank amid growing tensions with Russia.
Kate then entered the Quick Reaction Alert hangar to view a Typhoon with one of its pilots, Wing Commander Luke ‘Wilko’ Wilkinson. She appeared engrossed as he pointed out military hardware, including missiles attached below the wings.
The princess then climbed the stairs for a closer look at the controls, appearing to reassure her guide that her heels would not stop her.
On the ground, she met two further pilots and site manager Stephen Walker, and a group of engineers: Chief Tech Si Duke; Sgt Katey Hardt; Cpl Justin Davies; Air Specialists, Class 1, Harry Melbourne, Kyle Jordan, and Cameron Thomson.
When a potential threat or unidentified aircraft is detected by airspace controllers, pilots, and ground crews at the station quickly prepare Typhoons to intercept them. Fighter jets scrambled from Coningsby can reach London within 10 minutes. The station was recently awarded the Stainforth Trophy for demonstrating excellence on operational activities.
Next, Kate headed to the Typhoon Future Synthetic Training Facility, where instructor Geraint White invited her to step inside the futuristic simulator. “Would you like a go?”he asked, to which she replied: “Yes, I’d love to.”
Inside, she told him she had not used a simulator to fly a plane before, but had tried one used to train helicopter pilots.
But the princess seemed to take to her simulated flight with ease and appeared to enjoy her virtual climb from RAF Coningsby enough to perform the aerobatic stunt.
Speaking afterwards, Group Captain Paul O’Grady said: “She seems to be a natural pilot so we might have to get her qualified and get her flying a Typhoon, if she’s up for it.”
The princess, who wore an RAF badge on her blazer, also chatted to two trainee pilots on secondment from RAF Valley, where Prince William was stationed between 2010 and 2013.
“How are you finding Valley?” she asked Jack Hanby and Dan McPhail. They told her they had met the prince when he returned to Anglesey last year.
Meanwhile, in “The Lounge” – a communal space for those living at the station – she met Wing Commander Nick Startup, members of RAF Coningsby’s Welfare Team, and personnel, including aviators from junior ranks, to hear about their roles and experiences on site.
She was presented with three toy Typhoons and key rings for her children, saying: “They will be very upset that I’ve seen a Typhoon without them!”
