King Charles has handed over a prestigious role with the Army Air Corps to his son Prince William.
“The great thing is he’s a very good pilot indeed,” said the King.
It is unusual for the King and the Prince of Wales to both take part in an engagement – and this has been a symbolic handing over of the baton.
The King had become colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps 32 years ago – and now he has been succeeded by his eldest son, Prince William.
With his own cancer treatment still continuing, the King spoke to a veteran at the event in Hampshire who had undergone chemotherapy for testicular cancer – and they appeared to discuss losing the sense of taste.
The King arrived by helicopter at the Army Aviation Centre, where he met Prince William for the formal handing over of this military title.
In an impromptu speech, the King said the moment was “tinged with great sadness after 32 years of knowing you all”.
He spoke of his “immense admiration” for the work of the Army Air Corps in Iraq and Afghanistan – and then endorsed his eldest son and successor.
“I do hope you’ll go from strength to strength in the future with the Prince of Wales as your new colonel-in-chief. The great thing is he’s a very good pilot indeed. So that’s encouraging,” said the King.
He spoke in front of an Apache helicopter on display at the Army Flying Museum at the corps’ base in Middle Wallop.
Prince William was formerly an RAF search and rescue pilot, spending three years at RAF Valley in Anglesey.
Ahead of Monday’s handover, Kensington Palace posted images of his last two visits to the Army Air Corps – in 1999 and 2008 – with the caption “time flies”.
Later in the day, the Prince of Wales embarked on his first engagement with the Army Air Corps – receiving a briefing on its work and inspecting training and operational aircraft.
The King did not mention his younger son, Prince Harry, who flew Apaches in Afghanistan, where he served two tours of duty.
There was also no meeting with the King when Prince Harry was in the UK last week, with Prince Harry’s spokesman saying the King had too full a diary.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan then went on a visit to Nigeria, including events linked to charities and his Invictus Games project.
After the King left the handover ceremony, Prince William went on to carry out his first engagement in his new role – viewing training and getting a briefing on the current work of the Army Air Corps.
