Prince William Steps Into High-Profile Role Once Meant for Prince Harry amid Royal Rift
On June 4, the Prince of Wales and Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps visited the regiments for the first time in Wattisham, Suffolk.
King Charles announced Prince William to the position in 2023 and ceremonially bestowed him with the role in 2024, in a controversial move made William the leader of his brother Harry's former regiment. The appointment made waves as the title was once thought to have been intended for the Duke of Sussex, 40, who stepped back from his royal role in 2020.
Prince William, 42, appeared in good spirits as he stepped out on Wednesday, in what marked his first royal duty in over a week, while his children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, were off from school. Prince William and Kate Middleton typically scale back their schedules when their kids have vacation from school in order to spend more time together as a family and the latest break proved no different.
William's visit to the airfield was actually a rescheduled outing, as he was originally due to visit in January. The Prince of Wales' office at Kensington Palace said then that poor weather at the last minute would have "significantly restricted the planned program" and sent William's regrets.
"The Prince of Wales sends his sincere apologies to those who he had been due to meet and hopes to reschedule his visit at the earliest convenience," the palace said on Jan. 16.
The royal made it to the base on June 4 for a firsthand introduction to the 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (4AAC) who are based at Wattisham. The AAC is the British Army's combat aviation arm and consists of several regiments recognizable by their unique blue berets. William traveled out to learn more about their work, as well as the 664 Squadron's operational lessons from global tours and how soldiers are adapting to the new Apache AH-64E, the British Army's attack helicopter.
William is then expected to attend a combat PT session and spend time at the "Archer's Breakfast," a weekly social gathering organized by the squadron for service personnel and their families.
Prince William (who you can also call "Colonel") will also present a King's Commendation for Valuable Service and award soldiers with promotion from Corporal to Sergeant.
The Prince of Wales knows well the dedication it takes to succeed in army aviation. The heir to the throne is a trained military pilot who served with the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales, from 2010 to 2013.
He later retrained as an Air Ambulance Pilot and worked for East Anglian Air Ambulance from 2015 to 2017, and retired from that role to take on royal duties full-time.
William isn't the only pilot in the family — so is his brother, Harry. The Duke of Sussex began training as an Army Air Corps pilot in 2009 and served with the Corps during his second tour in Afghanistan from 2012 to 2013, where he flew Apache helicopters.
Prince Harry retired from the Army in 2015 and then dedicated himself to uplifting service personnel through the Invictus Games international adaptive sports tournament he founded.
The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle took a seismic step back from their royal roles in 2020 and Harry lost his military appointments as the change was made permanent.
King Charles, 76, officially made William the Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps in a military ceremony at the Army Aviation Centre in Hampshire in May 2024, appointing his elder son to the position he was in for 32 years.
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Charles first announced that William would take on the job in a reshuffling of military appointments for several working royal family members in 2023, and praised William's aerial skills in a speech there.
"I did just want to say what a great joy it is to be with you even briefly on this occasion," King Charles said in a brief speech at the ceremony in May 2024, Hello! magazine reported. "But also tinged with great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all and admiring all your many activities and your achievements throughout the time, I've been lucky enough to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps."
"The great thing is he's a very good pilot indeed so that's encouraging," he added. "So ladies and gentlemen, look after yourselves and, and, and I can't tell you how proud it has made me to be involved with you all this time."
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