Royals

Prince William’s pilot career wraps up with emotional final flight

William has been a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance since 2015.

After a little more than two years, Prince William has wrapped up his career as a pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA).

His last day on the job is a night shift, which started at 4.30pm London time, and the Royal Twitter accounts as well as the EAAA have been tweeting about the significant milestone, as William prepares to take on more royal duties. 

 

Read more: How Prince Philip is counting down to retirement

Earlier this year, Kensington Palace issued a statement in which William expressed his admiration for the EAAA.

“Following on from my time in the military, I have had experiences in this job I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and that will add a valuable perspective to my Royal work for decades to come,” the statement read. 

“I have loved being part of a team of professional, talented people that save lives every day.

“My admiration for our country’s medical and emergency services community could not be any stronger.”

Read more: Prince Philip stepping down from royal duties

Upon leaving the service, William also spoke of the “extreme emotion” involved in the job, and said that he hopes to be able to continue to support the profession. 

“As part of the team, I have been invited into people’s homes to share moments of extreme emotion, from relief that we have given someone a fighting chance, to profound grief,” he said.

“I have watched as incredibly skilled doctors and paramedics have saved people’s lives.

“These experiences have instilled in me a profound respect for the men and women who serve in our emergency services, which I hope to continue to champion even as I leave the profession.”

A statement from Patrick Peal, Chief Executive of the EAAA on their website showed that the feeling of respect is mutual between the organisation and William. 

“William has been an integral part of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) team for the past two years. He is not only a fantastic pilot, but a much loved and valued member of the crew; he will be truly missed by everyone at EAAA,” he said. 

“As one would expect, there has been a lot of excitement surrounding William and his work with the charity. To us, he has simply been another hard-working member of the team; one of 11 highly respected pilots who help us to save hundreds of lives each year.

“We can’t thank William enough for his hard work and commitment to the charity during this time. He has been a true professional, delivering our doctors and critical care paramedics to patients under testing conditions.

“His dedication to the job, and wonderful character will be greatly missed, and I know I speak for all of our staff when I say we wish him the very best of luck for the future.”

The 35-year-old’s retirement from the profession comes after Buckingham Palace announced in May that the Duke of Edinburgh will step down from all public engagements from the autumn of this year, aged 96. 

Duty now calls for the younger royals to step up to the plate in assisting the Queen with her royal duties. 

Do you think it’s admirable to see a young royal serving the community in such an essential role?

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