Son of William and Kate
Prince George learns to fly – at the age of eleven

Prince George has been interested in flying for some time
© imago/i Images / Pool / i-Images
Prince George has completed his first flying lesson. The eleven-year-old took to the skies in front of his parents William and Kate. Flying is a tradition among the royals.
Prince George is learning to fly. In front of his mom and dad, Princess Kate and Prince William, the future heir to the British throne took to the skies for his first flying lesson on the last day of the summer holidays. As the British tabloid “The Sun” reports that the eleven-year-old “loved” his maiden flight at White Waltham airfield near Maidenhead.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to have watched as their first-born took off from the runway with a flying instructor and landed safely again just under an hour later. William and Kate arrived at the airfield in Berkshire with George in a convoy of three cars. The site is around 10 miles from their house in Windsor. After the flight, all three royals are said to have relaxed in the airfield’s clubhouse – the headquarters of the West London Aero Club.
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One onlooker told the paper: “George may only be 11 but it’s the right time to start. The royal family has a great tradition of flying and it looks like George is next in line. His parents have watched George fly from the safety of the ground, he has flown with an instructor and loved it.” Another person at the airfield told the paper there were “30 or 40 people” in the clubhouse when William, Kate and George were there, adding that “all three were pretty relaxed”.
Prince George follows a long aviation tradition
As the British newspaper “Daily Mail” adds, future pilots can start learning to fly at any age, but the training hours that count toward the license begin at age 14. Students must be accompanied by a flight instructor until age 16, after which they can fly alone.
To obtain a private pilot’s license from the Civil Aviation Authority, student pilots must complete at least 45 hours of flight time and pass nine theory exams. From the age of 17, junior pilots can hold a license and transport passengers.
Prince George is likely to be trying to follow in the footsteps of his many family members who have flown aircraft throughout history. His father William is a trained helicopter pilot who spent two years flying a rescue helicopter for RAF Search and Rescue and the East Anglia Air Ambulance. His great-grandfather Prince Philip was trained at the same airfield in Maidenhead.
In May this year, William flew in an Apache helicopter after being appointed by King Charles to lead his brother’s former army regiment. Prince Harry qualified as an Apache helicopter commander in 2013 after three years of training. Had Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, not stepped down as working royals in 2020, he would likely have been appointed colonel.