Queen Elizabeth II is thought to have been a fair matriarch, but she had rules—and she didn't like her family members to break them.
So when Prince William decided to fly a helicopter from London to Norfolk with Prince George in tow, his grandmother was less than pleased.
The reason this was such a contentious issue is that both William and George are directly in line to the throne, and if anything were to happen to the helicopter with the two of them on board, it would be devastating to the line of succession. (Also, I'm assuming with a certain amount of authority that the Queen was generally concerned for her family's wellbeing.)
According to Robert Jobson in his new book Our King, the late monarch "drew great comfort" from knowing both Charles and William were "well qualified" to succeed her, and that Prince George also assured the continuity of the monarchy.
"Which was why she had sharp words with William after he defied her wishes by taking a helicopter flight to Norfolk with all his immediate family," Jobson writes (via the Daily Mail).
"She had warned him against flying with George in case of an accident, telling her grandson he always had to be aware of the succession."
It's far from the first time we've heard about the Queen's great distaste for William's love of flying helicopters.
In December 2021, it emerged that Elizabeth was "terrified" of a potential accident, and had had "several conversations" with her grandson about it.
A source said at the time, "She knows William is a capable pilot—but that so many things can go wrong. [She] does not think it is worth the risk for all five of them to carry on flying together and can’t imagine what would happen. It would spark a constitutional crisis."
The same issue came up time and time again between the now-Prince of Wales and his grandmother during her latter years, and it sounds like she eventually got through to him. Phew!
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