Like the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III has always had a close connection with the military; the son of a Royal Navy officer, he himself served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and his sons have seen active service with both the Royal Air Force and the British Army.
King Charles learnt to fly in the de Havilland Chipmunk and was qualified to fly a number of aircraft built by BAE Systems’ predecessor companies including the Harrier T.4, BAC Jet Provost, HS Nimrod, Avro Vulcan, Supermarine Spitfire, HS Andover, and the HS/BAe 146. We’ve been fortunate to host His Majesty, in his role as Prince of Wales, on a number of occasions over the years.
In 2017, when she was HRH Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen Consort officially named the second of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers HMS Prince of Wales, after her husband at a ceremony in Rosyth dockyard in Scotland.