The Prince of Wales caught up with old colleagues to chat about the “glory days” flying Sea King helicopters <\/a>on rescue missions during a special visit to an RAF base today. William was joined at the base by fellow heir to the throne, Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan<\/a>, and also described how the roar of the aircraft still goes “straight to my heart”. Both princes met some of William’s former colleagues and other personnel in the mess at RAF Benson near Oxford, where he was asked if he was still flying.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Kate Middleton makes surprise appearance as she reunites with glamorous royal pals<\/a>READ MORE: Meghan Markle reveals why she needed to dash home after dramatic Paris trip<\/a> And he replied: “I do still fly, yeah \u2013 I keep my hours going. When you learn that skill set, you just don\u2019t want it to go. I\u2019ve definitely lost a lot of the skills I had, but I like to keep on top of my flying, keep doing it. And it\u2019s my happy place, I love flying.”<\/p>\n William served for three years with RAF Search and Rescue and was based at RAF Valley in Anglesey. He later joined the East Anglian Air Ambulance, where he piloted helicopters for two years.<\/p>\n The prince added: “I miss the Search and Rescue \u2013 glory days. I miss the Sea King flying around, because when I hear it, that noise, as it flies past. We had obviously the US state visit the other day, with seven aircraft flying over. Sea King comes in, I was like \u2018there she is\u2019 that noise went straight to my heart.”<\/p>\n Both the Prince of Wales and the Crown Prince of Jordan are trained helicopter pilots.The Crown Prince completed his pilot training with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) in 2019.<\/p>\n RAF Benson is home to a number of squadrons, including 28 (Army Cooperation) Squadron, a unit training aircrew to fly Chinook helicopters, and William and Hussein helped the technicians with maintenance work.<\/p>\n The future monarchs helped tighten a nut on an oil reserve for a rotorhead \u2013 the large assembly a Chinook\u2019s rotor blades are connected to on top of the aircraft \u2013 using a torque wrench.<\/p>\n After the wrench made a satisfying click, William joked: \u201cYou will check before it goes back (into service), I don\u2019t want to be responsible.\u201d The two princes later had a private briefing about undisclosed matters.<\/p>\n Flight Lieutenant Steve Wilders, a Chinook instructor, served alongside the prince in search and rescue at RAF Valley, and later once piloted a royal helicopter carrying William.<\/p>\n After speaking to William in the mess, he said: \u201cIt was really nice to hear that he has carried on flying \u2013 he\u2019s still a pilot. \u201cHe made it sound as though he still enjoys it and it\u2019s a nice break from the everyday pressures, I suppose, getting up and flying away from everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The two princes’ trip to RAF Benson came after an earlier meeting at Windsor Castle, where they were joined by their wives the Princess of Wales<\/a> and Princess Rajwa. The Waleses’ are known to be friends of the couple, having attended their spectacular wedding in Jordan back in June 2023.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the country of Jordan is a special place for Kate, who lived there for three years as a young child. It came when her dad Michael Middleton was relocated there while working for British Airways<\/a> – and Kate and sister Pippa attended a nursery there.<\/p>\n In 2021, the couple took their children to Jordan for a private holiday, with a family snap at the ancient city of Petra from that getaway featuring on their Christmas<\/a> card that year. It came after William promised to take his family to Jordan following his 2018 visit there.<\/p>\n A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “Today\u2019s engagements highlight the strong relationship between The Prince and The Crown Prince, as well as their mutual respect and support for the Armed Forces<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal<\/p>\n WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here<\/a>.<\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Prince](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Prince-of-Wales-And-The-Crown-Prince-of-Jordan-Visit-RAF-Benson.jpg\")
Prince William during a visit to RAF Benson today (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760581038_898_0_Prince-of-Wales-And-The-Crown-Prince-of-Jordan-Visit-RAF-Benson.jpg\")
William was joined at the RAF base by Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Both](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760581038_233_0_Prince-of-Wales-And-The-Crown-Prince-of-Jordan-Visit-RAF-Benson.jpg\")
Both princes are trained pilots(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_PAY-Audience-at-Windsor-Castle.jpg\")
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and his wife Princess Rajwa(Image: Andrew Parsons \/ Kensington Palace)<\/p>\n