NEED TO KNOW

  • Buckingham Palace is speaking out about the royal family’s use of helicopters
  • The Telegraph reported that two new helicopters have traveled the equivalent distance of twice around the Earth
  • However, King Charles is reportedly skeptical about traveling by helicopter

A palace spokesman has defended the royal family’s use of helicopters after a new report claimed that two new aircraft have already traveled the equivalent distance of twice around the Earth.

The Telegraph‘s Jan. 4 report said the two new AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters the royal family is leasing have already clocked a total of 58,000 miles, or over two circumnavigations of the globe. 

The outlet said that the helicopters used by senior members of the royal family have logged 420 hours of flying time between late February 2025 and the end of November.

In response, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace said that the helicopters allow for the royals to easily reach remote places and undertake multiple royal duties in one day, streamlining travel for maximum impact. 

Princess Anne arrives by helicopter to attend The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst on Dec. 12, 2025.

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

“Helicopters are a key component of the royal travel plan due to their unique capability to access remote regions of the U.K., which are not otherwise readily served by other modes of transport,” the spokesperson said. “They also allow members of the Royal family to undertake multiple engagements in a given day.” 

It was reported in June 2024 that the royal family would lease two new helicopters to replace the existing, 15-year-old Sikorsky aircraft in its fleet, The Telegraph said, with Princess Anne and Prince William reportedly making the most of the new aircraft.

Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park home was “the most frequently visited destination with 68 stops,” the outlet said, citing flight data. Meanwhile, Prince William, 43, has also often used the choppers, which made a total of 52 stops between Windsor and Forest Lodge, the new home he and Kate Middleton moved into with their children in October. 

The Princess of Wales, 43, reportedly used a new helicopter for solo engagements, and she and William also traveled in the aircraft together for joint duties in 2025.

However, King Charles is skeptical about opting for helicopters. According to the outlet, the palace said that the sovereign is “pretty allergic” to using helicopters, would “raise an eyebrow” and even object when the transport was floated. In the biography Catherine, the Princess of Wales, author Robert Jobson claimed that the King, 77, and Prince William got into a disagreement about the safety of William flying his family in a helicopter.

Prince William and King Charles at the Countdown to COP30 event at the Natural History Museum in London on Oct. 9, 2025.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

Though the Prince of Wales is a trained pilot, the King “raised concerns” with his son and heir over his helicopter use with Princess Kate and their kids, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, after King Charles announced his cancer diagnosis in February 2024, an excerpt in the Daily Mail said.

According to the excerpt of the biography, published in August 2024, the sovereign even presented William with “a formal document acknowledging the risks involved and taking full responsibility for his actions” amid their dispute.

Prince William flying with his family was reportedly also a concern for the late Queen Elizabeth, who previously requested that her grandson not fly with his family on a helicopter from Kensington Palace to Anmer Hall, their country home in Norfolk, the book alleged.

It’s rumored protocol that direct heirs to the British throne should not travel together, in an effort to safeguard the future of the monarchy in the event of a tragic accident. For example, King Charles’ former pilot, Graham Laurie, alleged on a podcast in 2023 that the future King Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry and Princess Diana had to have Queen Elizabeth’s permission to fly together after Prince William turned 12. 

In the fall, Princess Anne, 75, treated students to an impromptu tour of the royal helicopter she traveled to Liverpool in after her aircraft landed on the field of a nearby school. 

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“A royal treat for Year 6!” Merchant Taylors’ Schools wrote on X on Sept. 10, along with a video of the kids checking out the chopper.

“After Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal arrived by helicopter on our Senior School field yesterday, our Year 6 pupils were given the rare chance to step up close to the impressive Leonardo AW139,” it continued, using an alternative name that AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters are called by. “The pilots kindly took the time to chat with them, answering their many questions and making it an experience they’ll never forget.”