Prince William jokes families don't always want to see each other
Prince William joked families don't always want to see each other "that much" during his first visit to the Army Air Corps (AAC) as their Colonel-in-Chief on Wednesday (04.06.25).
Prince William joked families don't always want to see each other "that much" during a visit to the Army Air Corps (AAC) on Wednesday (04.06.25).
The Prince of Wales - who is estranged from his younger brother, Prince Harry - made his first visit as Colonel-in-Chief to the soldiers' base in Wattisham, Suffolk, East England, where he chatted with the troops at the flying station.
Dressed in a camouflage military uniform and the AAC's distinctive blue beret, the prince asked soldiers about how often they saw their loved ones.
But he quipped: “Some of them might not want to see you that much. It’s a mixed bag.”
William - who flew himself to and from the base in a Wildcat helicopter, one of the AAC's reconnaissance aircraft - also watched some soldiers taking part in a combat PT session and chatted to those involved during a brief break to give them "a breather", praising the physical classes as being a way of releasing frustration.
He said: “It’s good to get out and about.
“It’s good to take it out on a punch bag.”
William - who has three children with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales - pledged to ensure concerns about the soldiers' accommodation would be "looked at".
He said: “It probably hasn’t been looked at for a while. There will be a big notebook on somebody’s desk.
“Whether they listen to me, that’s another matter.”
The 42-year-old royal received only smiles when he asked another group about their living situation.
He responded: “I’ll take that away, a lot of smiles going on, that’s all you need to say.”
Staff Sargeant Megan Chasney noted new accommodation is needed.
She said: “You can see this is a World War Two camp. Its ageing accommodation and its ageing infrastructure. We have new infrastructure coming but it can’t come fast enough.”
William's visit coincided with the weekly Archer's Breakfast, a social event held by 664 Squadron for personnel and their families, and the prince helped serve sausage and bacon roles and noted the food was “very good-smelling, making my mouth water”.
He joked: "There's nothing worse than the smell of bacon in the room and you cannot eat it”.
In his official role as Colonel-in-Chief, William presented Staff Sergeant Kenneth Robert Copeland with an award for his exceptional service in West Africa and promoted several soldiers from corporal to sergeant.
Megan said afterwards: “It was fantastic. It’s a privilege to be able to host our Colonel-in-Chief.
“We had a nice relaxed conversation on our way from the sports pitch down to here to speak about everything, our main issues at Wattisham and how he can help aid us with those, and what it’s like with service personnel and our families.”
The former RAF pilot became Colonel-in-Chief of the AAC in May 2024.
