Kate Middleton reveals Prince Louis' dream future plans but warns it'll be hard work
While visiting a RAF base in Lincolnshire, the Princess of Wales shared the sweet revelation about her youngest son and his ambitious dreams for his future career
The Princess of Wales has shared a sweet revelation about her youngest son, Prince Louis, and his career aspirations for the future.
Kate visited RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, marking her first visit to the base as its Royal Honorary Air Commodore. Kate performed a loop-the-loop in an RAF Typhoon jet simulator as she met pilots on the front line of the UK's air defences.
During her visit, she spoke candidly about her three children, in particular her seven-year-old son Louis, and his ambitious plans for his future career. Arriving at the RAF base by helicopter, she began her visit with a private briefing from Group Captain Paul O’Grady and Warrant Officer Nikki Nolan.
Kate 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 visited the Quick Reaction Alert hangar to view a Typhoon with one of its pilots, Wing Commander Luke 'Wilko' Wilkinson. The princess was engrossed with the impressive technology, 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.
While peering inside, the Princess of Wales made the candid admission about Prince Louis, sharing that he 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."
One team member presented her with three model Typhoons for her children and said to her: "Somebody told us that your children were very excited about you seeing a plane."
Kate replied: "They'll be very upset that I've seen a Typhoon without them."
During her visit, 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 future Queen's visit to the RAF base was her first since she became Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby in August 2023.