- Prince Harry has returned to the UK to start life as a full-time royal
- Showed off a ginger beard as he celebrated 31st birthday
- First engagement was a Battle of Britain flypast in Sussex
- He will also carry out a series of engagements for the RFU
- Will join the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Twickenham on Friday
He’s spent the summer working on conservation projects in Africa but Prince Harry is now back in the UK - and he's bought a special souvenir with him.
The prince, who celebrates his 31st birthday today, debuted a rugged ginger beard as he took part in a RAF flypast at Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex.
Looking tanned after a summer spent working on conservation projects in Africa – and still sporting the beard he grew whilst he was away – the fifth in line to the throne arrived at Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex for a flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of victory in the Battle of Britain.
Dressed in his regulation green khaki overalls, the prince attended an in-depth briefing before touring the flight line to see the aircraft and meet their owners and pilots.
Unfortunately for Harry, the wind and rain that had been battering the south east picked up shortly before his hour-long flight, in a PV202 flown by John Romaine of The Aircraft Restoration Company.
The Battle of Britain Flypast is bringing together more aircraft from the era in one place than at any time since World War Two as a show of thanks to those whose sacrifice helped to secure the nation’s freedom during the bloody summer and autumn of 1940.
Organised by the Boultbee Flight Academy, an estimated 40 Spitfires, Hurricanes and Blenheims from across the UK, USA and Europe will fly over the South of England, landing at WW2 airfields including Biggin Hill, Duxford, Northweald and Northolt – or, in Harry’s case, return to Goodwood.
While the prince will undoubtedly be the most famous passenger on board, the bravest surely has to be 95-year-old Wing Commander Tom Neil, a Battle of Britain Hurricane and Spitfire pilot who will once again take to the skies, leading the formation from the rear seat of a Spitfire.
He is the last surviving RAF ace (those boasting more than five enemy kills) with a staggering 140 missions, 14 downed enemy planes, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Force Cross to his name.
A teenage trainee bank clerk when war broke out, he only once baled out during the course of battle after being pranged by one of his own planes over Kent.
It was a remarkable achievement given that more than 500 of his comrades perished in action as the supposedly invincible German Luftwaffe attempted to knock out Britain’s air defences in advance of a land invasion.
The RAF’s contribution to the nation’s war effort led Churchill to famously remark: ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.’
As well as Wing Commander Neil, Prince Harry will also meet Corporal Alan Robinson and Nathan Foster, two wounded servicemen backed by the Spitfire Scholarship set up by the Boultbee Flight Academy in partnership with his Royal Foundation’s Endeavour Fund.
The Fund which offers funding for sporting and adventure challenges to wounded injured and sick servicemen and women and was launched the prince launched at Goodwood in 2014.
The Spitfire Scholarship draws inspiration from the legendary pilot Douglas Bader who flew throughout WW2 with 20 individual aerial victories despite losing both his legs in 1931.
Nathan, from South Shields, Tyne on Wear, suffered severe damage to his left leg in a bomb blast while serving in Afghanistan with the Parachute Regiment in 2011, while RAF engineer Alan had his right leg amputated above the knee after a motorbike accident.
The pair have followed a similar flight training programme as WW2 pilots, progressing from a Tiger Moth to a Harvard and finally to the Spitfire itself, culminating in joining the flypast.
Last year former Apache helicopter co-pilot Harry met pilots who were training for the event before himself flying in a two-seater Spitfire, even getting the chance to take the controls himself. It is likely that he will do the same again today The event is being featured in a two-part documentary on Channel 4.
Despite quitting the military after ten years and two tours of duty in Afghanistan back in June, Prince Harry has vowed to devote the rest of his life fighting for the rights of former servicemen and women.
He plans to work as a volunteer with the Personnel Recovery Unit of London District, where he will assist soldiers with their rehabilitation after being wounded or injured in service and continues to be closely involved in the Invictus Games, the hugely successful Paralympic-style event for injured service personnel he founded, which will be held in Orlando next year.
The prince has three official foreign tours planned before Christmas: a brief trip to Washington for meetings connected with Invictus and then a trip to Lesotho in southern Africa on behalf of his charity, Sentebale, followed by an official tour of South Africa on behalf of the British Government at He will also continue to juggle a programme of royal duties, including several engagement associated with the Rugby World Cup in his role as Honorary President.
No comments:
Post a Comment