Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, transitioned from the waves to the clouds 65 years ago today when he was awarded his “pilot’s wings” during a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
The Duke, who married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and became her consort when she became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, was already an experienced naval officer who served with distinction during World War Two. On his wife’s accession to the throne he took on several new roles, including that of Air Commodore-in-Chief – a senior honorary appointment originating with the Royal Air Force.
It only required ceremonial duties of him, but he took the role seriously and resolved that if he was to be Air Commodore-in-Chief, he should know how to fly. He therefore embarked on a series of flying lessons with 29-year-old RAF instructor Flight-lieutenant Caryl Ramsay Gordon, while also studying all the necessary theoretical aspects of flying.
On the morning of May 4th, 1953, the Duke took his flight test at White Waltham airfield in Berkshire, with his anxious instructor looking on. He was required to take off and complete three solo circuits of the airfield, including test landings, or “bumps”, before landing properly and taxiing his single-engined Harvard trainer aircraft to a halt. It bore the five stars denoting his rank as Marshal of the Royal Air Force.
His test flight was monitored by an RAF examining unit using the same criteria as it did for any other trainee RAF pilot. It described the Duke’s flying as: “thoughtful, with a sense of safety and airmanship above average”.
Having passed the test, the Duke returned to Buckingham Palace, where he was presented with his wings by Air Chief Marshal Sir William Dickson, Chief of Air Staff. It was the first time in history that a newly-qualified pilot was presented with his wings by an officer who was junior in rank to him. It was also the first time that an officer of such a senior rank was presented with his wings, since pilots usually qualified at a far more junior rank.
However, the Duke was not the first member of the royal family to qualify as a pilot. That honour went to his late father-in-law, King George VI, who learned to fly shortly after the formation of the RAF in 1918.
The Duke’s new qualification led to speculation that he might begin piloting aircraft of the ‘royal flight’, transporting members of the royal family, including the Queen, to official engagements. The royal couple were due to take a short break at Balmoral in preparation for the Queen’s forthcoming coronation, less than a month away on June 2nd, and some thought the Duke might fly them up to Scotland personally.
Such speculation was soon quashed when it was pointed out that he was not yet qualified to pilot multi-engined aircraft and the Queen was hardly likely to travel in a single-engined light aircraft.
“Even if the Duke goes on to qualify to fly multi-engined aircraft,” said an Air Ministry spokesman, “I doubt if the government would agree to his piloting the Queen by himself. However good the Duke is as a pilot, the selected RAF pilots, who have daily flying practice, must be preferable to the Duke, who will not have the time for such practice.”
The Duke, though, did find time for more flying, qualifying as a helicopter pilot in 1955 with the Royal Navy, gaining his private pilot’s license in 1959 and going on to fly many different types of aircraft, far more than most pilots. He finally hung up his flying jacket for good in 1997, at the age of 76, having accumulated 5,986 hours in the pilot’s seat. He also passed on his love of flying to his sons and grandsons. Both Prince Charles and Prince Andrew qualified as helicopter pilots, the latter becoming the first royal to fly in active service during the 1982 Falklands War.
Similarly, both Prince William and Prince Harry have qualified to fly helicopters through their military service, with William later working as an RAF search and rescue pilot then a helicopter pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Click here to see newsreel footage (without sound) of the Duke of Edinburgh learning to fly.