Royal Flying

When the King’s Flight was officially formed in 1936, passenger flying was very much in its infancy. Creating the Royal Flight was a most innovative action by King Edward VIII, although members of the Royal Family had enjoyed a passion for flying almost since the dawn of aviation: during a visit to Paris in 1909, King Edward VII met the Wright Brothers and watched them demonstrate their new ‘Flying Aircraft’.


In order to facilitate flying members of the Royal Family, the Royal Air Force officially allocated a series of specific aircraft for these duties. The very first of these was Bristol Fighter J8430, which in 1928 was fitted with a specially modified rear cockpit for VVIP flying, although the cockpit was still very much open to the elements. Over the years, the King’s and Queen’s Flight have operated an interesting variety of aircraft and helicopters, many of them of British design and manufacture. Their visits provided an excellent opportunity to promote British aviation, and a number of orders were received from airlines around the globe as an indirect result.


This book covers not just the King’s and Queen’s Flight, but also the Duke of Edinburgh’s, Prince Charles’s and Prince William’s military and civilian flying activities.


Profusely illustrated with historical images, many of which have never previously been published.