I was surprised to see Prince William out and about on Tuesday, which was Day 2 of his father’s US state visit. The general rule for all of the left-behind royals is that they’re not supposed to undertake any high-profile events back home or make news during a high-stakes state visit. One could argue that “William doing military dress-up” isn’t really making news, and yet… it’s notable that he thought nothing of pulling focus. For William, it was probably more about competing with his brother, who spent two days in Ukraine last week. Well, William also made news beyond his military cosplay – he spoke about “missing” his time at the RAF, and he also yammered on and on about Aston Villa.
A wistful Prince of Wales has described how much he misses the camaraderie of his time as an RAF search and rescue pilot. Prince William, 43, returned to RAF Valley on Anglesey, North Wales, on Tuesday, telling trainees how much he had loved working there and admitting that he would love to return.
The Prince was based at the Holyhead site from 2010 to 2013, when he and the Princess of Wales, who mark their 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, lived together on Anglesey as newlyweds. It allowed the young couple to enjoy married life in relative normalcy, away from prying eyes. Their rented four-bedroom farmhouse on the island was also Prince George’s first home.
The Prince, wearing RAF camouflage uniform and sporting a trimmed, greying beard, told trainees at the station: “I loved my time up here. It was great fun. Your time up here will go quickly, that’s the thing. You’ll look back with fond memories.”
He added: “I do miss it. I miss the job, I miss the camaraderie.”
The Prince also caught up with former colleagues including Brian Wills, a pilot instructor, and Andy Batchelor, chief maritime instructor. Mr Wills said: “In a heartbeat, he said he’d come back and do it again.”
The Prince, who was named Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the base in 2023, watched a parade to mark the 85th anniversary of the station. As well as talking about aviation, the royal spoke about his football team Aston Villa during a discussion with Isaac Reed, a trainee working within air traffic.
Mr Reed, a Sunderland fan, said: “He misspoke and said Villa when he meant to say Valley, so that was my opportunity to jump in and ask about football. It got the Prince talking. He seemed more keen than I was at one point.”
The Prince presented the Prince of Wales Award, given annually to recognise the best-qualified flying instructor within the No 4 Flying Training School, and met women from the base, telling them he was trying to take “barometer readings” of the experiences of women in the military. He said: “Some things have come to my attention that I’m not particularly happy about. Are we adopting and evolving the Armed Forces in a way that is suiting women joining the Forces and is it a nice place to join?”
The officers spoke to the Prince about their experiences, including returning to work in the RAF after having children.
The Prince and Princess are expected to mark their wedding anniversary privately on Wednesday.
One of the forgotten pieces of gossip is that when William was first stationed at RAF Valley, he wanted his then-girlfriend Kate Middleton to move into RAF housing with him, which caused a massive kerfuffle at the RAF and Buckingham Palace. He was basically told that no, he can’t have a live-in girlfriend in military housing. That basically forced William into proposing to Kate, and it also forced him into renting that “cottage” in Anglesey. They never “remember” that part of it! As for William missing his RAF days… I bet he does. Genuinely. He doesn’t want to do all of this royal work. He wishes he could go back to his part-time pilot days where he had a built-in excuse for not undertaking royal work (while simultaneously avoiding RAF work).
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- 28/04/2026. Anglesey, UK. The Prince of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore during a visit to RAF Valley. The Prince watched and inspected the 85th Anniversary Parade, before presenting The Prince of Wales Award. The Prince then met with a group of the female RAF team. His Royal Highness also met 202 Squadron. Finally, The Prince had the opportunity to meet trainees from across RAF Valley.,Image: 1094988896, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 28/04/2026. Anglesey, UK. The Prince of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore during a visit to RAF Valley. The Prince watched and inspected the 85th Anniversary Parade, before presenting The Prince of Wales Award. The Prince then met with a group of the female RAF team. His Royal Highness also met 202 Squadron. Finally, The Prince had the opportunity to meet trainees from across RAF Valley.,Image: 1094988904, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 28/04/2026. Anglesey, UK. The Prince of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore during a visit to RAF Valley. The Prince watched and inspected the 85th Anniversary Parade, before presenting The Prince of Wales Award. The Prince then met with a group of the female RAF team. His Royal Highness also met 202 Squadron. Finally, The Prince had the opportunity to meet trainees from across RAF Valley.,Image: 1094988912, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 28/04/2026. Anglesey, UK. The Prince of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore during a visit to RAF Valley. The Prince watched and inspected the 85th Anniversary Parade, before presenting The Prince of Wales Award. The Prince then met with a group of the female RAF team. His Royal Highness also met 202 Squadron. Finally, The Prince had the opportunity to meet trainees from across RAF Valley.,Image: 1094988919, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- 28/04/2026. Anglesey, UK. The Prince of Wales, Royal Honorary Air Commodore during a visit to RAF Valley. The Prince watched and inspected the 85th Anniversary Parade, before presenting The Prince of Wales Award. The Prince then met with a group of the female RAF team. His Royal Highness also met 202 Squadron. Finally, The Prince had the opportunity to meet trainees from across RAF Valley.,Image: 1094988920, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Pete Maclaine/Avalon
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- HOLYHEAD, WALES – APRIL 28: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with members of the 202 Squadron during his visit to RAF Valley on April 28, 2026 in Holyhead, Wales. The Prince of Wales visited the airbase in his role as Royal Honorary Air Commodore to mark the airbase’s 85th anniversary. The prince was stationed at the base between 2012 and 2013 during his time serving as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot.,Image: 1095035806, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dominic Lipinski/Avalon
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- HOLYHEAD, WALES – APRIL 28: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with members of the 202 Squadron during his visit to RAF Valley on April 28, 2026 in Holyhead, Wales. The Prince of Wales visited the airbase in his role as Royal Honorary Air Commodore to mark the airbase’s 85th anniversary. The prince was stationed at the base between 2012 and 2013 during his time serving as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot.,Image: 1095035881, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dominic Lipinski/Avalon
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- HOLYHEAD, WALES – APRIL 28: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with RAF trainees during his visit to RAF Valley on April 28, 2026 in Holyhead, Wales. The Prince of Wales visited the airbase in his role as Royal Honorary Air Commodore to mark the airbase’s 85th anniversary. The prince was stationed at the base between 2012 and 2013 during his time serving as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot.,Image: 1095035935, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dominic Lipinski/Avalon
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- HOLYHEAD, WALES – APRIL 28: Prince William, Prince of Wales speaks with members of the RAF during his visit to RAF Valley on April 28, 2026 in Holyhead, Wales. The Prince of Wales visited the airbase in his role as Royal Honorary Air Commodore to mark the airbase’s 85th anniversary. The prince was stationed at the base between 2012 and 2013 during his time serving as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot.,Image: 1095036041, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dominic Lipinski/Avalon
I read at the time keen did not associate with the other wives at the base. The pair never stopped the normalcy spin as an excuse not to work.
I guess Kate is simply not social, I do know women like that who have very small circles usually their mom’s,sisters or cousins and their best friend is their man that they spend the most time with. (eg. Beyonce seems to have the same set up)
@Neeve the comparison you made shows you have no clue about Beyonce.
Beyonce (and J) has multiple friend groups and a huge circle.
Like most normal people there are layers. Like Meghan, you have your ride of dies, then the really close friends, then everyone else.
No she sees other women as competition
Agree Sunshine re: friendship circles. Per Beyoncé herself, she has mx close friends who are not family. Some of them from her childhood years.
Kate spent a good chunk of her twenties clinging to Willy boy. It’s not clear if she developed a supportive friend group outside of her mum. Kate and Will don’t have a friendship. It’s not a relationship/marriage of equals either. Whether by choice or not, Kate appears pretty isolated since her marriage. Will the would be king appears more and more moody, paranoid, and controlling. These days, neither appears comfortable in his/her own skin, much less with each other.
No. he doesn’t, he didnt even show up.for work, when he did work. he was apparently fed up.!!! He misses the single life he once had !
Beyonce appears to have a big circle because she is Beyonce, out of her own mouth she has said she does not have many friends and the friends that she does have in her circle are Her mom,Angie,Solange(literal blood) and Kelly,Michelle(sister bond/band mates). She again out of her own mouth has said Jay Z is her favourite person to spend her time with. Those Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gada are pr friendships. So like Beyonce, Kate seems to be close to just her blood/siblings and her man.(whether he also likes to hang with her or not is another topic).
@Kate Huevo really misses day drinking in the pubs around Anglesey….
His life must be so empty and meaningless, what a way to live.
Mr empathy strikes again – of course everyone else will have the same feelings as he did about the place and miss it when it’s over.
He seems pretty happy
Oohhhhhh, isn’t that sweet. He misses play time. While others risk their lives and it’s a career and actual livelihood, POW gets to play military man, make tone deaf jokes and make “friends”.
Exactly, Seraphina.
He views everything through the prism of what he gets out of it — not through the lens of service, as Harry does.
So true @Seraphina. People wonder why he (and Charles) never offer any encouragement to the UK Invictus veterans. I think it’s more than just jealousy of Harry. William lacks empathy so he doesn’t consider the impact of war on other veterans, he just knows he had a jolly good time so that’s that. He doesn’t see anything greater than himself and his needs. Even Earthshot is really all about propping William up and giving him a platform to look “important “.
He misses the job? Wasn’t it reported that he was part time and sometimes called out? Am I remembering that correctly? He is basically doing the same thing now. Works very little and calls out a lot!!
I think that was the air ambulance.
He may well have been doing the same in the RAF but it was easier to lock down gossip in the military – tell the other members of the military / the public that someone’s activities need to stay silent for ‘security reasons’ (which to be fair is true for both William and Harry) and the press didn’t get information as to how much work William was actually doing and / or the public didn’t expect to hear anything.
Part of the issue with the air ambulance was that civilian social media was contradicting the ‘full time work’ narrative.
Yes I got them confused with air ambulance. Thank you for the clarification!
I think he was still part time in the RAF (he never earned enough hours to qualify as a pilot IIRC, he was always a copilot) It was just better covered up.
And yes i’m sure he misses hanging out without public duties and just being able to show up for Trooping and holidays like Christmas. he calls it “great fun” which I’m sure is great to hear for the people who need those search and rescue services.
Everything he says just screams ” I dont want to work.”
Does villa sound like Valley? His mind is always on football never on the job…🙄
I never got the impression that William particularly enjoyed his time in the RAF. He doesn’t seemed to have kept any of his friends from the RAF either.
So. In honour of his fifteenth wedding anniversary he went back to the first place he lived with his wife when they were married…. Without her. To hang out with his squad mates from his RAF contingent. Who are mostly other guys. Plus a few ladies in uniform. But mostly guys. Okay……
He is such a boring man. Also, the scruffy beard isn’t doing him any favors. He probably thinks that he looks like Jason Statham, but no.
His boring now definitely, but l.dont think he was always like that. I do think William is deeply deeply unhappy and the reason he resents Harry is because he showed him.up, has a more competent wife and lastly he got out !! William is stuck with a wife he doesn’t even really like anymore, a senior job he really doesn’t want, it’s v sad. I do.think if these two publicly separated we should see a totally different William. Your partner should bring out the v best in you and with William and Kate its de opposite.
See, I agree with @Kat, if he could be himself, (all the talk of “faking it” or being “performative” seems to be a theme) he would clearly perk up, but *why* is he so burdened by his situation??? I mean. It’s not like the Charles-and-Diana story in which the betrothed couple only met each other 13 times or so before the wedding, in addition to being 13 years apart in age. These people met 25 years ago and became housemates two years after that. They have co-habited for the better part of two decades. They have three kids. Even if one or both of them had been sporadically unfaithful, that would not be novel, or even a dealbreaker, by their own (and many of our) standards. So *why* is he so miserable????
Kate and William never formally “lived together” before they got married. . She spent weekends with William, but lived at her parents place. William dated others and was serious about Isabelle Calthorpe and Jecca Craig but they did not want him. I think he’s miserable because he “settled for” Kate. Oddly, he skipped out of Peter Phillip’s first wedding to go to the wedding of Jecca’s brother Leaving Kate to go solo at the Phillips wedding. He also went to Jecca’s wedding and did not bring Kate along. Kate wanted to be Queen and she tolerated his cheating. Diana wanted out of the marriage and did not want to be Queen and stay in the marriage with Charles.
Misses the job.
Thank you so much for this early morning laugh. I needed it today!
“I’m a veteran too!!!!” That’s all this is. *eyeroll*
This! “I can wear camo too!” SMH! How can someone be so unserious at his age? He’s beyond laughable!
I can just imagine him speaking to RAF women returning to work after having a baby “so who does the school run”?
He’s just insulting on so many levels.
I can’t imagine William missing any job. That’s all.
William had camaraderie with a bunch of Air Force soldiers? No. Stop lying, William and stop trying to be/ erase Harry. You were absent all the time and never flew enough to get the proficiency to fly alone. And take off those army fatigues, you cosplaying fraud. Remember, the military is Harry’s bc he earned it. You are a selfish coward who failed out of laziness and entitlement. Give us a break for once. We are not buying what you are trying to sell.
This is truly embarrassing for TOB. I’m trying to imagine any other politician or public figure visiting an RAF base and instead of focusing on the essential and difficult work they are doing, making it all about himself and how much “fun” he had when he was young and single. Totally clueless.
I’m sure there are lighthearted moments and camaraderie, but it just shows him as
a dilettante who “worked” for a lark briefly (twenty years ago). I did enjoy him discovering that there may be misogyny in the military and he’s “not very happy about it!” Now that he’s fixed racism in football by saying he found it boring, he can utilize those skills elsewhere.
And speaking of football, how much of his visit do you think he spent blathering on about Aston Villa? And who thought that telling this story would be cute? If the future king is such a yokel that he not only can’t distinguish the words “valley” and “villa” from each other, but then uses that as an excuse to talk about his own favourite topic (his football team) as opposed to the topic at hand (military readiness, misogyny), then he’d better hope Charles lives until 150.
Jay, Charles should live until 150. That would sort it.
“Their rented four-bedroom farmhouse on the island was also Prince George’s first home.” I thought Kate lived with her parents in Bucklebury after George was born? I don’t remember him ever living in Wales. And of course William would reminisce about being single and free on his wedding anniversary. Such a douche.