Kate And William Take Children On Poignant Visit To Plane That Carried Queen's Coffin

The Prince and Princess of Wales took their three children on a tour of the air show last September, when they had the chance to sit on the plane that carried the late Queen's coffin to her funeral last September.

Prince George and his sisters Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis paid a private visit to Royal International Air Tattoo with their parents William and Catherine at the start of the school holidays.

In the days leading up to her funeral last September, they saw the large C-17 transport plane fly the Queen's coffin from Edinburgh to London with Wing Commander Will Essex leading the operation.

The young royals got a ride from Wg Cdr Essex, who was seen riding a quad bike in the hold and listening to the conversation on the plane's "public address system".

Children on a C-17 visiting the Royal International Airlift ( Image: PA)

Wg Cdr Essex, commander of 99 Squadron, which operates the C-17 aircraft, said: “We talk to the princes and princesses about our role and show them to the children.

"They sat in the little quad in the back, went into the cockpit, sat in the pilot's seat and flipped the switch."

The future King George, who turns 10 on July 22, along with his eight-year-old sister Charlotte and five-year-old brother Louis, are finishing up their school at Lambrock in Berkshire.

Prince William spoke to George during the visit ( Image: PA)

The Princess of Wales with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis during the visit ( Image: PA)

The show was a return visit for George, who was introduced to the show by his parents in 2016 and was photographed wearing earmuffs.

As it rained, the royals dressed in light summer day clothes and George and Charlotte stared at the sodding concrete surrounding the giant plane as they stepped out of the car at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

George was tasked with upgrading the plane's landing section and was seen pressing a button as his father looked on before the royals received a private tour.

The Princess of Wales speaks to Air Cadets during the visit ( Image: PA)

When he got off 10 minutes later, Lewis was seen jumping into the square and heard saying "hello" over the public address system.

Kate then wandered solo through the air show's sprawling Tech Zone, where hundreds of students gathered to learn about the science and engineering behind aviation.

In the year They chatted with Air Cadet Rowan Daly, Matthew Busby, both 19, and Anna Dury, 17, nicknamed The Three Flying Fish, who are competing to become the smallest team to row the Atlantic Ocean in the 2025 challenge.

Her cadet team is based in Burnham-on-Crooke, Essex, said: 'I was a bit mean and I asked him if he wanted to join and he asked us to tell him.'

The visit took place at the start of the children's summer holidays ( Photo: PA)

Kate shelters from the rain ( Picture: PA)

He spoke to air cadets from 172 Squadron Haywards Heath in Sussex, including Luke Mutton, who learned to fly but failed his driving test.

"I haven't started flying yet. Flying a plane is amazing. I don't think it beats the feeling you get when you fly."

The 17-year-old daughter said her grandfather was a pilot, and Peter Middleton flew the plane in 2015. In 1962, she flew with the late Duke of Edinburgh as co-pilot on his two-month tour of South America.

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