Kate Middleton made her first official visit to a special Royal Air Force base in a new role on Thursday. In 2023, King Charles announced a number of new military appointments for members of the royal family, including a trio for the Princess of Wales: Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm, Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Queen’s Dragoon Guards, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby.
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The Princess of Wales is greeted by an RAF officer.
Kate arrived for her inaugural visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England dressed in a gray suit by British designer Bella Freud and what appeared to be the Fleet Air Arm Brooch, which she previously wore to the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day celebrations in May. The Princess has worn the checkered jacket (coincidentally named “Earl Jacket in Prince of Wales Check”) on previous occasions, including as recently as a month ago on a tour of several mills showcasing the heritage of British textiles and designers.
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Kate meets with the station’s operational personnel.
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Her post at Coningsby also carries a personal link to her husband, Prince William. The late Queen Elizabeth appointed the Prince of Wales as an Honorary Air Commandant of the station in 2008. William previously trained and served as a search and rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force.
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Kate got a closeup look at both the fighter jets and training facilities.
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The Princess also met with children of aviators and personnel stationed on the base.
The Princess was briefed on the station’s recent operations, including deployments in Poland to support NATO. Kate later met personnel from the RAF’s reaction alert team protecting U.K. airspace, and viewed a typhoon aircraft used in response to potential threats. She also toured training facilities using real-world mission software to prepare pilots, and later met junior aviators and the families of personnel stationed at Coningsby.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.