William and Kate return to their flying roots as they are granted prestigious honorary positions in the Royal Air Force

The Prince and Princess of Wales are returning to their flying roots with new honorary positions in the Royal Air Force.

The Ministry of Defence announced William, who qualified as an RAF search and rescue pilot, has become the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Valley in Wales.

He previously spent three years at the base on Anglesey, taking part in 156 search and rescue missions and saving 149 people.

The Prince belonged to the RAF’s 202 Squadron with colleagues regarding him as an outstanding pilot and as ‘one of the family’.

Though search and rescue operations were privatised in 2016, RAF Valley remains a training facility for fast jet pilots and crews.

The Ministry of Defence announced William, who qualified as an RAF search and rescue pilot, has become the Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Valley in Wales. Pictured: William in 2012 

The Princess of Wales meets Cadets in the Techno Zone, which aims to inspire young people into exploring science, technology

Prince William at the controls of a Sea King helicopter Prince William taking part in a search and rescue training exercise in 2011 

The latest appointments list, released by Buckingham Palace, also recognises the Princess of Wales’s RAF connections.

Kate has adopted the position of Royal Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Coningsby, a title previously held by her husband, who had performed the role at the Lincolnshire base for 15 years from 2008.

The Princess has family connections to the RAF as her paternal grandfather served as a fighter pilot during the Second World War and flew with the late Duke of Edinburgh in the 1960s.

Captain Peter Middleton died at the age of 90 just days before the Prince and Princess announced their engagement in 2010.

Captain Middleton was the Duke’s co-pilot on flights across South America during a royal tour.

Previously unseen images of the Princess’s grandfather with the Duke emerged in 2019.

Kate has also become the Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm and Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards.

The QDG, Wales’s cavalry regiment, was embroiled in controversy last month when a married senior officer allegedly indulged in sexual relations with two female guests at the regiment’s summer ball. Major Duncan Wiggins is now facing dismissal from the British Army.

Buckingham Palace said: ‘The King is pleased to announce further military appointments for working members of the Royal Family.

‘The new appointments will continue to reflect the close relationship between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family.’