Prince William made a hilarious seven-word quip after he was reunited with his former flying instructor during a visit to the RAF base where he served for three years in North Wales.
The Prince of Wales braved the rain and wind today as he visited RAF Valley in Anglesey, describing it as a “bit of nostalgia” while he toured the familiar airbase and met personnel from across the unit to hear more about their work and day-to-day life.
William became Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Valley last August after taking over the role from the King.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who continues to undergo cancer treatment, lived in Anglesey when William worked at the base as an RAF search and rescue pilot from 2010 to 2013.
After his umbrella blew inside out when he arrived he joked: “It wouldn’t feel like home if I wasn’t back here on a day like this.”
He then headed straight inside the Air Traffic Control Tower, where he marvelled at views of the Llyn Peninsula and said: “It’s a bit of nostalgia for me.”
William chatted with instructors, trainees and engineers over a cup of tea, which he drank from a Prince of Wales mug, and met his former flying instructor Captain Brian Wills.
After spotting him, William said: “I thought you might be here today, you hang around like a bad smell!”
The pair then had a warm chat, where the Captain thanked William for his gift. “Not at all,” the prince said.
Speaking afterwards, he explained that the prince had sent him a bottle of whisky and a card to mark his 50th birthday in 2022.
Captain Wills said it was good to see William again, noting that the last time the pair saw one another was in 2009.
He said: “It was very nice to catch up.”
He added: “I get asked a lot how was it training him and what extra privileges did he have, but I treated him like anybody else.
“He did everything exactly as anybody else would have done.”
During the visit, the future King visited the base’s Fire and Rescue Section, where he joined a simulated fire response exercise.
He jumped in a fire engine and headed to a plane engulfed in flames, where William was tasked with extinguishing the blaze.
Sitting in the passenger seat he operated a water pump, expertly maneuvering the equipment to put out the fire in just over 60 seconds.
When he later spoke with crew members he joked he had been “trying to get the media “with the hose” but the crew with him were “very well-behaved”.
Hearing more about the work of the Fire and Rescue section, which provides year-round airfield rescue firefighting and structural firefighting cover for RAF Valley, William quipped: “I bet you guys are good in the gym as well.”
He was met with hearty laughs as the prince imitated a bicep curl and added: “Fire crew are some of the fittest on station.”
William presented the Prince of Wales award for the best-qualified flying instructor to Flight Lieutenant Jake Fleming and met the response team from the RAF Mountain Rescue Service (MRS).
Families had gathered outside to wave him off, with the prince taking the time to personally greet them.
Bending down to speak to the children clutching Welsh flags, he asked them their names and when one girl said her name was Charlotte he replied: “I know one of those!” He was then presented with a commemorative picture of RAF Valley before heading off.