Rare video inside King Charles plane and royal family jet after £10m refurbishment
The monarch travels in styleKing Charles and Queen Camilla travelled to Italy for a state visit in style this week ahead of their wedding anniversary, arriving in a plane covered in a Union Jack flag.
The monarch landed in Rome last night (April 7), at the start of their historic four-day visit to the country. Arriving at Ciampino 31st Wing airport, King Charles and Camilla were welcomed by a Guard of Honour on the tarmac.
It marks His Majesty’s 18th official visit to the country, and the third for Camilla. During their stay, they’ll reside at the Villa Wollonsky in Rome, the UK Ambassador’s official residence in the city.
What kind of plane does King Charles have?
King Charles’ luxury travel arrangements include the RAF’s VIP Voyager private jet, a dedicated plane for British government ministers and the royal family. The Airbus A330 MRTT is part of the national fleet which can be used by The Firm, the prime minister and other members of the government for state business. They also have access to helicopters and commercial flights.
It has accommodated VIP passengers since 2016, undergoing an exterior makeover in 2020 where the outside was painted with the Union Jack flag as well as white and gold lettering. The aircraft was repurposed for the UK government in 2015, costing £10m.
It features 58 business class style seats, 100 standard seats and has a flight crew of 13 – including two pilots. As the king and queen will be accompanied by members of their staff, it’s bigger than a standard private jet.
Other aircraft available to the royals include the Dassault Falcon 900LX (Envoy IV CC Mk1), and the Airbus A321-253NX.
✈️ The King and Queen flew to Kenya today ahead of their State Visit, which begins tomorrow.
Follow #RoyalVisitKenya for the latest updates. pic.twitter.com/OkX55eFuwk
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 30, 2023
Does the royal family or King Charles have their own private jet?
The royals themselves do not own the jet or plane, but use the fleet that is set aside by the UK government.
Due to the passengers being high profile, like members of the government and royal family, it’s rare to see inside the plane King Charles uses. However, he did share an video of him and Camilla sitting inside it in 2023.
When the couple flew to Kenya for a state visit, we see King Charles sitting in a luxury seat with a table in front of him. He’s holding a red folder embossed with his regalia, and another binder on the surface, likely filled with state papers he’s working on. With glasses at the tip of his nose, the monarch was wearing a pale blue shirt and necktie, in a more laid-back appearance we rarely get to see.
The camera pans over to Camilla, who is sitting in her own seat and has her own black folder.
Read more: Real reason royals don’t wear seatbelts revealed by security expert
Does King Charles have a pilot’s license?
Yes, King Charles is a qualified pilot and diver. He received an official pilot license after training in the Royal Air Force and Navy, which he asked for at his own request.
He began flying as an undergraduate student at Cambridge University and obtained his private pilot’s license in 1970. The king trained as a jet pilot in 1971 at RAF College Cranwell and as a helicopter pilot three years later at RNAS Yeovilton. He also underwent commando training at Lympstone.
He served as a pilot for the Royal Navy, operating from HMS Hermes, flying the Royal Marines commando variant of the Westland Wessex helicopter.
His Majesty also took part in parachute training after retiring from active military service and now acts as an honorary member of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, as well as holding senior rank in Armed Forces across many Commonwealth nations.
Royal’s accident
Although he has extensive experience behind the control wheel of a plane, Charles has suffered bumps on the runway during his flying career.
In June 1994, the then Prince of Wales, burst three tyres of a plane when landing it on the runway on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Taking control of the British Aerospace 146 aircraft, it was travelling too fast as it approached landing causing the tyres to burst.
Thankfully, no one on board was hurt, but the £10m ‘Whisper Jet’ King Charles was flying did suffer damage to the landing gear, weather radar and nose cone after he had to dramatically turn to avoid ploughing onto rough land.
He later called the incident a near miss, saying it “wasn’t quite a crash”.
Does King Charles travel with his own toilet seat?
Rumours the king prepares to take his own toilet seat on trips overseas has been doing the rounds for years – but he denied this in an interview with an Australian radio show in 2018.
When quizzed if he takes his own toilet seat when he travels, King Charles replied: “My own what? Oh don’t believe all that [bleep]”.
Queen Camilla also chimed in, saying: “Don’t you believe that!”
It was initially claimed by Tom Bower that the monarch brought his home comforts with him as part of his travel necessities. It was reported he would travel with his own orthopaedic bed, linen, bottled water, premium toilet paper, toilet set and Laphroaig whisky.
Read more: Inside King Charles’ ‘£6.3m’ luxury car collection with an ‘intense’ cleaning schedule
Royal’s request
Members of The Firm have been previously criticised for using private jets or planes when travelling after many royals have spoken passionately over climate change.
Between 2022-2023, King Charles took nine private jet flights, according to the annual sovereign grant report released by Buckingham Palace. It also detailed the price of travels for the royal family in that year exceeded £17,000 or more for each trip.
In response to backlash, the palace explained travel arrangements for official tours or state visits were made following the advice of the government. They also added the king had requests sustainable jet fuel to be used wherever possible on all of his trips.
What do you think of the plane King Charles and the royal family use? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @RoyalInsiderOfficial.
