Princess Kate ‘does loop-the-loop’ over countryside during visit to RAF base

It was her first visit to RAF Coningsby as Royal Honorary Air Commodore

The Princess of Wales executed a loop-the-loop in an RAF Typhoon jet simulator on a trip to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

The visit on Thursday was her first one as Royal Honorary Air Commodore.

Kate toured a fighter aircraft on stand-by for national airspace threats before entering a state-of-the-art simulator.

Later, she told waiting children her son Louis wished to be a pilot, and apologised for not wearing a dress.

The visit also included a briefing on recent RAF operations, such as supporting Nato in Poland.

Kate was then shown around a fully armed Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon, which is ready to react to any threat facing UK airspace within minutes of an alert.

Kate met with waiting children, and told them her youngest son Louis wants to be a pilot

The princess wore a grey checked suit over a darker grey top.

She was given a tour of the aircraft by its pilot, Wing Commander Luke Wilkinson, before climbing the stairs with him up to the cockpit.

QRA provides a 24/7 interception response based at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

Jets from Lincolnshire can reach London in under 10 minutes once they are scrambled.

Kate then moved to the newly opened Typhoon Future Synthetic Training facility, where she took the simulated controls of the fast jet.

The Princess of Wales wore a checked suit (PA Wire)

She told instructor Geraint White that she had flown a helicopter simulation before, but never a plane.

The princess “flew” around the Lincolnshire countryside with the North Sea ahead and, at one point, appeared to perform a loop-the-loop manoeuvre.

In September, Kate, along with her husband Prince William, visited to two schools attended by the children who were murdered in the Southport attack in 2024.

The royal couple also met in private with the parents of victim Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, who was a pupil at Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School.

The week before, they met with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle during the president’s state visit to the UK.