Prince William reportedly had an ongoing “disagreement” with his father King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II about flying his young family across the UK via helicopter.
Prince of Wales and next in line for the British throne, William is a trained pilot with military experience and flew an Air Ambulance chopper from 2015-2017.
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According to royal author Rob Jobson, the prince had heated discussions with his father and grandmother over the safety of flying himself, his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.
“One recent source of disagreement is William’s stubborn refusal to take his father’s advice on safeguarding the succession,” Jobson wrote in his upcoming book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen, obtained by The Independent.
“Earlier this year, the King had raised concerns with his son about the wisdom of William using his helicopter to fly his entire family around the country.”
Jobson claimed William also clashed with the late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022 aged 96, over the issue.
Reportedly the prince went against her request to not fly his family from Kensington Place in London to their other home, Anmer Hall in Norfolk, 214km away.
The royal expert wrote that Elizabeth was “haunted” by the helicopter crash in 1967 that killed the Captain of the Queen’s Flight, John Blout.
“She did not hold back,” Jobson said of the discussion with William.
More recently, in light of his cancer diagnosis, Charles has been especially critical of the use of helicopters for the family’s travel.
“After being diagnosed with cancer, King Charles — perhaps reminded of his own mortality — echoed his late mother’s concerns,” Jobson wrote.
“And when William refused to stop flying with his family, Charles insisted that he sign a formal document, acknowledging the risks involved and taking full responsibility for his actions.”
For Charles, the issue of his successors to the throne is reportedly a sensitive topic, with Prince Harry, who stepped back from the royal family in 2020 and moved to the US, being next in line after George, Charlotte and Louis.
Harry and wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.