Prince William joins David Beckham in the cockpit for helicopter charity event
The Prince, who is patron of the London Air Ambulance charity, asked Beckham to front an Omaze prize draw, which contributed more than £4 million to the fund – Aaron Chown/Reuters
The Prince of Wales joined forces with David Beckham on Tuesday to celebrate the purchase of two new helicopters for London’s air ambulance service.
The duo were at RAF Northolt to mark the end of the three-year Up Against Time appeal that raised £16 million for the H135 vehicles, which operate from their base at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.
The Prince, 42, and Beckham, 49, greeted each other like old friends, before hopping inside the cockpit.
The Prince, patron of the London Air Ambulance charity, had personally asked Beckham to front an Omaze prize draw campaign, which contributed more than £4 million to the fund.
The Prince of Wales and David Beckham were at RAF Northolt to mark the end of the Up Against Time appeal that raised £16 million for two helicopters – WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe
The former England football captain enjoys close links with the royals. He attended the weddings of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex and recently became an ambassador for the King’s Foundation.
“We’re here today to celebrate … the success of the fundraiser for London’s air ambulances which is something close to my heart and has been for a number of years,” Beckham said.
“I’m an East End boy so every time we saw them in the air it made us very proud.
“As soon as I was asked to be involved by Prince William it was something I was very honoured [to do] in all honesty.”
Both Beckham and the Prince signed and dated the helicopters, with William writing “ball in the middle!” – a reference to keeping the aircraft level when flying – and Beckham writing “thank you! Fly safe, love David Beckham”, signed with a kiss and the number 7 – his former shirt number.
They also posed for photographs and met medical and pilot crew, as well as two former patients whose lives were saved by the charity.
They also met with Airbus engineers who were involved in the creation and development of the new helicopters.
Beckham and the Prince signed and dated the helicopters, with William writing ‘ball in the middle!’ and Beckham writing ‘thank you! Fly safe, love David Beckham’ – Aaron Chown/PA Pool
The Prince had been due to fly one of the aircraft to the Royal London Hospital to deliver it for its first duty flight but bad weather meant the plans had to be cancelled.
The Telegraph revealed earlier this month that he had paid a private visit to Airbus Helicopters headquarters at Oxford airport to be shown around the new aircraft.
The helicopters are an updated version of the model the Prince flew during his two years as a pilot with the East Anglian air ambulance between March 2015 and July 2017.
He recently revealed during a visit to Wales Air Ambulance that he would love to make a return to the skies, joking that he could volunteer one weekend and “make a comeback”.
The Prince posed for selfies with the air ambulance staff and crew at RAF Northolt in west London – Aaron Chown/AFP
The Prince completed an intensive four-month flying course at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire in April 2008, receiving his wings from his father.
Known as Flt Lt Wales. he went on to complete a one-year advanced helicopter training course at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, before training as a search and rescue helicopter pilot at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.
He qualified in Sept 2010 and immediately began operational service as co-pilot of a Sea King Mk3 helicopter, working as part of a four-person crew.
His active service ended three years later, having conducted 156 search and rescue operations and helped rescue 149 people.
The Prince has made no secret of how much he relished his time flying helicopters, both with the air ambulance and the RAF, and has maintained a close interest in the industry.
In 2016, he said: “It’s rewarding when I come here to do this job and I really look forward to coming here every day, whether it’s at 5.30am or going to bed at two in the morning.
“The shift work is still exciting and challenging for its variety more than anything and the fact that I love working in a team.
“And that’s something that my other job doesn’t necessarily do. You’re more out there on your own a little bit.”
Put through his paces
The Prince later visited London-based Earthshot Prize 2023 finalist Enso to mark its new contract with Uber to supply tyres for electric vehicles.
The heir to the throne was immediately put through his paces.
Asked if he had ever changed a tyre before, he replied: “Oh loads of times… not necessarily with quite so much pressure as this.”
Shown how to use the drill, he was asked to remove the last two nuts from a wheel, which he managed successfully.
“Everyone needs a nice handy action tool,” the Prince said, adding: “I’d better make sure the tyre doesn’t fall off.”
The Prince shows his skills at Earthshot Prize 2023 finalist Enso, who have won a contract with Uber to supply tyres for electric vehicles – Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters Pool
Sales technician Andrew Bernard was impressed with his efforts, joking: “You got some spare time, come and work for us.”
He later referred to Elizabeth II, who learned to change tyres when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during the Second World War, as he said: “He was very attentive with everything I threw at him and clearly knew what he was doing.
“If his grandmother could do it, then so could he. He was great, easy going and down to earth.”
The company’s founder Gunnlaugur Erlendsson said of the Prince’s efforts: “He was like a professional.”
