If you have ever travelled on the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in the last 21 years, there are chances that the one at the controls was the king. No, we aren't kidding. It looks like KLM takes its name very seriously and intends to live up to the word "Royal," as it has now been revealed that the King of Netherlands Willem-Alexander often doubled up as the co-pilot on several flights.
In an interview published on Dutch daily De Telegraaf on Wednesday, May 17, the king revealed that he flies as a commercial airline co-pilot for KLM's Cityhopper twice a month. While no one recognised him as the king in the airline's uniform he said that he too never introduced himself as the king over the intercom.
"The advantage is that I can always say that I wish everyone a heartfelt welcome in the name of the captain and the crew," he told De Telegraaf. "So I don't have to say my own name. But most of the people don't listen anyway."
While his love for flying is known to all, Willem-Alexander explained that he took it up as a hobby as it relaxes him. He couldn't do it full time as he also had to take care of his royal duties.
"For me the most important thing is that I have a hobby for which I need to concentrate completely. You have an airplane, passengers and a crew. You carry responsibility for that. You cannot take your problems from the ground with you in the sky. You can for a brief moment disconnect and concentrate on something else. That is the biggest relaxation of flying to me."
While he loves flying, Willem-Alexander revealed that he has no plans to fly bigger aircraft as they involve longer flying hours and overnight layovers. He said he doesn't like the idea of not being able to "get back in time to the Netherlands in case of an emergency."
The royals seem to have an inclination for flying, be it as a hobby or for other purposes. Britain's Prince William, in April 2008, completed pilot training at Royal Air Force College and qualified as a pilot. He then underwent helicopter flying training, after which he became a full-time pilot with the RAF Search and Rescue Force in early 2009. He was with the British Armed Forces until September 2013 and also flew for an air ambulance service.
On the other hand, his brother Prince Harry passed his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base, after which he trained as a pilot for the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter. Later, he is known to have piloted the attack helicopters in Afghanistan.
