This is the moment a jubilant Prince William took to the skies in an Apache helicopter after being crowned the leader of his brother's ...
This is the moment a jubilant Prince William took to the skies in an Apache helicopter after being crowned the leader of his brother's former Army regiment by King Charles.
His Majesty declared his eldest son and heir Colonel-in-Chief of The Army Air Corps - the combat aviation arm of the British Army - at a ceremony at the Army Aviation Centre in Hampshire today.
After the event, the Prince of Wales departed the army base in the black helicopter as his new unit watched on.
The ceremony this afternoon was a landmark moment as it is King Charles's first joint engagement with
Father and son laughed as Charles handed William an Army Air Corps beret and belt as the Prince of Wales took on his younger brother's former unit - the 662 Squadron.
The event fell on the day Prince Harry left Nigeria after a three-day pseudo-royal tour with his wife Meghan.
In a speech in front of an Apache helicopter today, King Charles did not mention Harry, who flew the same aircraft in Afghanistan during two tours of duty. Instead he said William was a 'very good pilot indeed' - before sparking laughter by saying: 'So that's encouraging'.
The Duke of Sussex served with 662 Sqn as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, and it was widely thought he would have taken the role until he made the decision to step back from royal life in 2020 and emigrate to the US.
The King said: 'I do hope you'll go from strength to strength with the Prince of Wales as your new Colonel-in-Chief. I can't tell you how proud it has made me to have been involved with you all this time'.
Prince William then donned his new uniform and blue beret before being handed an Army Air Corp tartan wrap for the Princess of Wales, a scarf for himself and three wooden helicopters for George, Charlotte and Louis.
The event was happening as the Sussexes landed at London Heathrow this afternoon on a British Airways flight from Abuja. The couple are expected to board a plane to Los Angeles so they can be reunited with Archie and Lilibet in Montecito late tonight or tomorrow.
Last week, Prince Harry spent three days in London to mark the ten-year anniversary of the Invictus Games - but was unable to meet with his father because of the King's packed diary.
It has reportedly led to briefing and counter-briefing on both sides about why their paths never crossed. One source close to the King redeployed the famous phrase coined by the Queen about Harry and Meghan after Megxit, that 'recollections may vary', after a Sussex source told The Sunday Times: 'I was fully expecting them to meet. I know that's what he [Harry] wanted to happen'.
It came as King Charles today revealed he has lost his sense of taste during his ongoing cancer treatment.
Harry needed to give 28 days' warning to the King and the Home Office to request security arrangements for his stay, which began last Tuesday and ended on Friday when he met Meghan at Heathrow and flew to Nigeria.
The Sunday Times spoke to people close to the Sussexes who said Harry's London visit was 'long on the radar' for the Palace.
'I can't imagine that request [from the Duke] fell through the gaps. Even if they didn't get a request, which I don't believe, could His Majesty not have made a request to see his son? It was widely known he was coming', one insider said.
Another source told the newspaper: 'It surprises me a lot. I was fully expecting them to meet. I know that's what he wanted to happen and I don't know when he's next back.'
But friends of the King have questioned the analysis from the Sussex camp, using the famous phrase coined by the Queen about the Sussexes, that 'recollections may vary'.
'While it is true that the King is understandably wary about meeting with Harry, given the publicity circus that seems to surround all such visits, he did of course agree to see his son at the most vulnerable moment of his illness and at very short notice,' a source said.
'While he was hardly going to roll out the red carpet the moment this Invictus trip was announced, with doctors advising him to focus on his treatment and recovery, the idea that he refused to find space in his diarywell, let's say recollections may vary once again.'
As well as the row over why Harry and Charles failed to meet, there will have been further salt in the wound because today's engagement with the King and William was being confirmed while Harry was in the UK.
The King's decision to hand the role to William has been seen as a blow to Harry when it was announced last year.
The King said it was a 'great joy' to meet servicemen, their families and veterans at an earlier visit to the Army Flying Museum but added the handover was 'tinged with great sadness'.
He said: 'I do hope you'll go from strength to strength in the future with the Prince of Wales as your new Colonel-in-Chief.
'The great thing is he's a very good pilot indeed - so that's encouraging.'
He unveiled a plaque commemorating an Apache AH Mk.1 going on display, the first of its kind to be installed at a UK museum.
The aircraft was one of four involved in a rescue mission during the Battle of Jugroom Fort in 2007.
The King said: 'Let me just say what a great joy it is to be with you even briefly on this occasion but also it is tinged with great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all, admiring your many activities and achievements through the time that I've been lucky enough to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.'
General Nick Barton, who took part in the rescue operation, said it was a 'unique honour' to meet the King who served as an important 'figurehead' for the soldiers.
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