The Prince of Wales has today postponed an engagement at the Wattisham Regiments, Suffolk, due to bad weather.
Prince William, 42, colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, was due to meet service personnel from both units, observe elements of regular training and have a first-hand introduction to the regiments today.
However, the weather conditions in Suffolk, foggy and with a gentle breeze, would have restricted William’s planned programme, forcing him to cancel the occasion until further notice.
Visits to the Army Air Corps regiment in Wattisham, described online as “the pit stop team for Army helicopters”, are by appointment only.
William regularly meets with various soldiers at locations across the UK, including Picton Barracks, Bulford Camp, Wiltshire, last month.
The father-of-three sent his sincere apologies to those in the Suffolk regiments who were due to meet him, adding that he hopes to reschedule his visit as soon as possible.
William completed training as a helicopter pilot with the RAF Search and Rescue Force in 2010, then flew an air ambulance for two years before resigning to take on more royal roles on behalf of Queen Elizabeth.
Despite missing today’s event, William surprised day drinkers at Wetherspoons yesterday as he returned from an official engagement.
The Prince of Wales, 42, today canceled his trip to the regiments in Wattisham, Suffolk, due to bad weather (seen in Birmingham yesterday)
The future king was spotted at the Birmingham branch of the popular pub chain New Street Station after appearing at an event to mark his new role as patron of the College of Paramedics.
He was apparently keen to talk to Aston Villa fans like himself, with the team playing Everton tonight, and sipped a pint of cider.
He bought a round of beers for eight Villa fans and drank a pint of Bulmers cider, staying for around half an hour before catching a train back to London.
Steve Jones, 56, a Villa fan for the past 35 years, said: “The club contacted us to say that Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa fans while he was in Birmingham, as he wanted keep up to date with everything that was happening in Villa.
‘He was fantastic. I was quite surprised by how committed he was to the club, his interest. Not a fan of good weather. He really loves the club with a passion.
“We talked about the club, transfers, the pending Champions League trip to Monaco and everything related to Aston Villa. “He asked a lot of questions; he has a good level of interest.
Prince William offered his sincerest apologies for the change of plan (seen during a visit to the British Armed Forces in Rzeszow, Poland, in March 2023)
“95 per cent of it was a chat about Villa, as it is a shared interest, but a bit about his family. Young George is a Villa fan, but he didn’t want the three to be.
“He was hugely interested and seemed like a really genuine guy and all he wanted to do was talk about Villa.
“He said he was hopeful of beating Everton tonight and would be attentive, but he was wary of new manager syndrome, or rather old manager syndrome.”
Earlier at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre, he received best wishes for his wife, Catherine, as he chatted to paramedics about topics such as training, drones and hospital waiting times.
Among them was Ed Griffiths, who served as a search and rescue paramedic with William at RAF Valley on Anglesey when the prince was a search and rescue pilot.
William patted him on the shoulder and shared a joke before adding, “The last time I saw you was on the beach.”
Tracy Nicholls, chief executive of the College of Paramedics, said: “I want to say how delighted we are to hear about His Royal Highness and send him our best wishes.” William nodded.
It comes after the Princess of Wales revealed her cancer was in remission on Tuesday.
Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince William, Prince of Wales, attend the welcoming ceremony at the Horse Guards Parade during the first day of the visit of the Emir of the State of Qatar to the United Kingdom in December.
William asked Jess Rousen, a paramedic and nurse who has worked in Wales for 27 years, “how’s the morale?”
Jess described how “morale was low” when some hospitals were “flooded”. She said some paramedics finish a shift and return 12 hours later only to return with the same patient. And he added: “But it is what it is.”
Gary Clarke, a Belfast paramedic, told William that full hospitals are having a huge impact on patients and paramedics. He said the amount of time they have to spend with patients has increased.
He said: ‘It’s not cool. Many patients have to wait, so you have to establish a good relationship with the patients in the ambulance.’
William replied: “It’s difficult because you want to get them to the hospital as soon as possible.”
Gary said delays got worse after Covid, but says Paramedic College helps you “deal with what you’re going through” and “have that as a backup if you need to.”
Jean Cragg, a lifeguard for 43 years in the East Midlands, told William: “When I hear my colleagues talking about waiting times, it is very difficult for everyone, but there is no real quick solution available.”
Speaking to a new recruit who had spent less than a year as a paramedic, William said: “The journey they go on is exciting.”
Claire Fitchett, a specialist paramedic in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, told the prince that “being a paramedic can be a lonely place to work” and said it was good that so many paramedics were together at the conference.
He also told William that paramedics were taking advantage of new technology. She told him they are investigating using drones to fly automated external defibrillators (AEDs) from the mainland to the Isle of Wight using drones.
William added: “We still need people on the ground so we’ll keep working for a while.”
And he asked if there were figures on whether the number of people wanting to train as paramedics had increased or decreased post-Covid.