Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II passed away aged 99 on 9th April 2021. He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.
Prince Phillip first began flight training in 1952 in White Waltham and his instructor was 29 years old Flight-Lieutenant Caryl Ramsay Gordon. In December 1952 the Prince made his first solo flight and on 4th May 1953, he was presented with his Royal Air Force (RAF) wings.
A year later after he started flying helicopters, He obtained his helicopter wings in 1956 and his private pilot’s license in 1959.
Prince Phillip flew his last official flight in 1997 from Carlisle to Islay at the age of 76. By then he has flown 59 different aircraft types and has logged nearly 6,000 flight hours.
Princess Cecilie
Prince Philips's sister, Princess Cecilie, who was terrified of flying passed away in 1937 in a plane crash when he was 16 years old.
The flight was scheduled from Germany to London. The weather was fine at takeoff however by the time they arrived for landing, the area was clogged with heavy fog. During landing attempt at Ostend, the pilot’s vision was impaired and the plane clipped a factory chimney.
The aircraft wing and an engine were torn away from the fuselage and the aircraft crashed into the ground and burst into flames and all 11 people on board perished.