Prince George and his family make surprise appearance at airshow
As he approaches his 10th birthday, Prince George is the spitting image of his father and appears to have inherited his fascination with aircraft.
The future King was delighted to be given the chance to operate the controls of a huge RAF C-17 Globemaster III during a family visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, Gloucestershire.
Prince George was given the task of partially raising the ramp from the inside and could be seen pressing the button as a proud Prince of Wales watched on.
Prince William, who served with the RAF Search and Rescue Force for more than three years at RAF Valley in Anglesey, appeared keen to share his knowledge with his elder son.
Just like his father, George, who turns 10 on July 22, was dressed in belted chinos and brown suede brogues. His maturity and new-found confidence was clear to see as he shook hands with senior members of the RAF.
The Prince and his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, joined their parents for an unannounced appearance at the military show for an early summer holiday treat.
The family braved pouring rain to see the sights and sounds of several hundred aircraft.
Their first stop was the C-17 transporter that was used to fly Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin back from Edinburgh to London last September.
The aircraft just happened to be among those on display at this year’s event and the Waleses were ushered up its large ramp for a private tour.
Prince Louis appeared particularly enthralled by a quad bike he spotted in the hold and clambered inside before waving to onlookers. He was also heard saying “Hello” over the aircraft’s PA system.
He was later pictured studying a photograph of paratroopers jumping from the aircraft on an information board.
Wing Commander Will Essex, who showed the family around the C-17, said of the children: “They sat on a little quad bike we had down the back and then they got in the cockpit and sat in the pilots’ seats and flicked some switches.”
The children were left in the care of their father as the Princess, in her role as Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Cadets, visited the Techno Zone, designed to inspire young people considering careers in engineering, aviation and aerospace, where she met a group of cadets.
The family then stayed to watch some of the air display.
The Air Tattoo is the world’s largest military air show, featuring more than 250 aircraft from 25 countries and attracting more than 200,000 spectators throughout the weekend.
Prince George was last taken to the event in July 2016, just shy of his third birthday, when he was pictured wearing ear defenders as his father lifted him aboard an RAF Red Arrows Hawk jet.
The young prince took to the cockpit of a military jet, and appeared enthralled by jets roaring above and the hi-tech controls of planes and a helicopter.
The event was considered his first official public engagement in the UK.
