Earlier this week, Prince George had a starring role in a video where his mother, Kate Middleton, announced that she had completed chemotherapy treatments following her recent cancer diagnosis. Though the princess and her husband, Prince William, spent their children’s summer break enjoying the outdoors in Norfolk, they found time to help their oldest son follow in his father’s footsteps. According to The Sun, the future king has been taking flying lessons, and last week patrons at White Waltham Airfield in Maidenhead, Berkshire saw George take to the skies with an instructor while his parents watched from the ground.
“George is only 11 years old, but it is the right time to start,” one onlooker told the tabloid. “His parents watched George take flight from the safety of the ground, but he flew with an instructor and loved it.”
The young prince comes from a long line of talented pilots, and his late great-grandfather Prince Philip also learned how to fly at White Waltham, which is a short drive away from Windsor Castle and its surrounding estate, back in 1952. Prince William earned his wings after flight training at Royal Air Force Cranwell in 2008, and when his son was born in 2013, William was serving as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglia Air Ambulance service.
On Thursday, William returned to RAF Cranwell to serve as the reviewing officer at the annual Sovereign’s Parade. “It is my great honor to be with you today representing my father, His Majesty the King,” he said in a speech, per the BBC. “Whilst I didn’t graduate on this exact parade ground, I did graduate from flying training here, so I know something about the celebrations that will come later.”
This week, George returned to school at the Lambrook School in Berkshire, alongside his siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. In 2022, the family relocated to Adelaide Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Home Park, after spending most of the previous two years using Anmer Hall, their Sandringham country home as a primary residence. Kate filmed the March video where she announced her cancer diagnosis in the cottage’s garden.
