Prince William Remembers Childhood Trips in Helicopter With Prince Charles
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below."
Prince William has shared some poignant reflections on his late mother Princess Diana during an appearance on Apple’s audio walking experience. And he has also included memories of time spent with Prince Charles as a boy, including how excited he was to get to go in the front of a helicopter.
“As a young boy, I went and did a couple of trips, which I was very lucky to have with my father in a Wessex, a very, very old helicopter, no longer flies,” the Prince said in the episode of Apple’s Time to Walk which was recorded in Sandringham in the spring. “And I got to sit in the front. And I didn't realize at the time how much of an impression it would make on me, but I absolutely adored it. And they gave me a photograph from the trip. And I had it on my wall, and I kept looking at it, and it kept calling to me like it was saying, ‘Come on, what's the next step?’.”
William later went on to join the RAF Search and Rescue as a helicopter pilot, something he described in the audio episode as “better than anything.” “It was one of those things that I just instantly took to and thought, ‘This is really cool’. I really enjoy it,” he said. After that, he was an air ambulance pilot and the episode sees him share some reflections on his struggles with what he saw while working in that role.
The Prince also spoke about Prince Charles’s love of walking, saying that he has come to appreciate this more as he gets older. “When I grew up, my father used to love his walking and still, to this day, loves his walking and used to try and force Harry and I out of the house the whole time to walk,” William said. “And we weren't really having any of it. But now, as you get older, you appreciate it a lot more and you see it for what it is.”
The Prince also spoke about memories of going to the St Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate on Christmas Day, making the walk with his family and sitting opposite his cousins.
“I have strong memories of walking down here, and my grandfather, he used to walk so fast that there'd be huge gaps and spaces between all of us walking down, and there’d be us at the back with little legs trying to keep up,” William said.
Once inside the church, William recalled how the family “sit opposite each other”. He added, “Growing up, having my cousins sat opposite me has always been quite difficult to keep a straight face at times. I have had the giggles many, many times in the service. Luckily, no one's filming it. So you can get away with it, and on Christmas Day, it's fun to have a giggle and enjoy yourself.”
Apple’s Time to Walk was launched at the start of this year on Apple Watch for Apple Fitness Plus to encourage people to walk more often to benefit their physical and mental health. Each episode features a guest who walks in a location that is meaningful to them and shares important memories, life experiences and lessons learned.
William’s episode will also be available free on radio station Apple Music 1 from Monday December 6.
You Might Also Like
