The Prince and Princess of Wales treated George, Charlotte and Louis to an end of term visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford.
A shot of the Princess arriving.
The royals were greeted warmly.
A very grown up handshake from Prince George.
The rainy weather didn't dampen the excitement.
A very speedy walk up the ramp to avoid the 🌧️
— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) July 14, 2023
🎥PA pic.twitter.com/xea8JyCJ4h
All aboard for the Waleses.
The event is staged in support of the RAF Charitable Trust, which was set up in 2005 to support the wider RAF family. As well as seeking to develop a spirit of air-mindedness in youngsters, it also aims to promote excellence within the Royal Air Force.
The family day out comes ahead of Prince George's tenth birthday later this month. The family will celebrate the future king's special day on family holidays in Mustique for several years to come.
Since the pandemic, we've heard reported sightings of trips to Cornwall, which would offer the perfect setting for birthday portraits and a nice nod to the area, it being William and Kate's first summer as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.
'Prince George took to the cockpit of a military jet, and appeared enthralled by jets roaring above and the hi-tech controls of planes and a helicopter.
The family’s first stop was a huge C-17 transporter aircraft, which was used to transport the late Queen’s coffin in the days ahead of her funeral last September.
They shook hands with senior members of the RAF before they were ushered up the huge ramp of the transport plane with their parents.'
The Princess spent time with cadets in the techno zone.
Of course, William is Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Coningsby and Kate is Honorary Air Commodore of the Air Cadets.
The Princess met volunteers involved with the show.
Kate shows Prince Louis around.
Princess Charlotte enjoys a tour of the aircraft.
The Air Tattoo is the world's largest military air show, featuring 250 aircraft from multiple nations.
The thrilling event promises non-stop entertainment for all ages: "Fast jets, giant transporters, historic aircraft, and much, much more. There will be a chance to meet the crews, get close to the aircraft and enjoy a feast of first-class entertainment, including the Techno Zone, an interactive showcase designed especially for youngsters, the Vintage Village, Autodrome and the Adrenalin Zone."
Vintage Village allows visitors a look back in time and a chance to revel in the fashion, jewellery and accessories of the 1940s. There's a vintage atmosphere with singing performances by award-winning artists clothed in authentic uniforms, not to mention tea and scones.
It has been dubbed by some as the greatest air show in the world.
Indeed, it is in fact a significant one for the family. In 2016, William and Kate took Prince George to the RAF Air Tattoo ahead of his third birthday. It marked his very first UK engagement.
Prince Louis spots royal photographer Chris Jackson.
On social media, RAF Air Tattoo representatives said they were "thrilled" to welcome the family.
A group shot with members of the U.S. Air Force.
The Princess wore the sold out Blazé Milano Wind Hunter Charmer Double-Breasted Pinstriped Grain De Poudre Blazer. The £1,520 piece was described: "As the name implies, Blazé Milano is all about blazers, and the label has made this 'Wind Hunter Charmer' version just for us. It's tailored from grain de poudre woven with generous amounts of silk and linen and patterned with creamy pinstripes. The double-breasted front is outlined with pretty knotted buttons."
Kate's trousers appear to be a McQueen style she owns. They were teamed with her Emmy London Lulu flats in 'midnight'.
Kate accessorised with her Sézane Bruna gold hoop earrings.
And her Daniella Draper Citrine pendant.
We'll see the Princess tomorrow afternoon for the Wimbledon Women's Singles Finals. If you would like to catch up on all the courtside royal style from Wimbledon, apart from the Princess that is, pop over to read my post, (and a second one here) on The Royal Digest. That's right, following a great deal of thinking (and more than a share of indecision for which your patience is more than appreciated) I've decided to finally land on a site covering multiple royals, focusing on current events across the board with an eye on royal history. I took time to consider reader feedback and asked myself, what will you all truly enjoy? The relaunched site will operate based on what I believe to be the answer to that question. I do very much hope you'll join me. Click here to visit. I have exciting plans and, with the quiet summer season upon us, it's the perfect time to dig in and take the time to establish its direction. I think it will sit nicely alongside Chronicling Kate, which will be continuing as normal.
I absolutely love this!!! It’s nice for the children to see and learn about all things military. Who knows, they all may end up servicing for God and Country and that is a beautiful thing, coming from a Veteran myself. Love the wardrobe for todays outing, very relaxed and warming. 💗
ReplyDeleteThank you for your service. My husband works for the V.A. in Washington, D.C. and we are aware of the level of sacrifice. Blessings to you.
DeleteHi Charlotte.....I thought I'd get ahead of the comments to ask about your other blog, The Royal Decade. I check every day :) to see if you've posted, but realized the last post was back in March. I really loved the content on there and was hoping that you were going to continue to post. Are you planning on keeping that blog alive? I sure hope so!!
ReplyDeleteTheresa, thank you so much for your interest. It has taken me quite some time (truly going back and forth) to settle on what I really want to do in terms of royal coverage beyond Kate. I have finally settled on committing to The Royal Digest, which will cover current news during the week and offer content similar to The Royal Decade.
DeleteThe Coronation, Jordan royal wedding and very regular requests about the Duchess of Edinburgh sealed my decision.
I am so immensely grateful for the support from all of you. More than anything for your patience as it's taken me so long to settle on this.
There's a bit of work to do yet, but here it is
https://theroyaldigest.blogspot.com/
Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much and I'm saving The Royal Digest now as one of my "favorites"!
DeleteThank you so much Theresa :)
DeleteIn my favourites too! I had also been checking in on the Royal Decade...
DeleteSo pleased you will feature other royals too - but do continue with this one, which we love so much!
Ah, a C-17. Nice.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate these "First Looks" when there has been an outing. Thanks for your extra effort Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteThe family look great in what appear to be repeats for all of them - perfect for a not-quite-private family outing!
Thank you Trickymum :)
DeleteTo chime in here Charlotte, thank you for all of your time, research, and care - it’s so appreciated! I always look forward to reading your work. Again, thank you! - Lis
DeleteThank you Lis :)
DeleteI agree that the First Looks are fantastic! I don’t follow Kate’s schedule, so I always get a little thrill to see a First Look and know that a full post with tons of great photos and info will be coming shortly. Appreciate all of your efforts, Charlotte!
DeleteDoes this mean the you are disbanding Mad About Meghan Blog?
ReplyDeleteHello Adi, I'm not closing MAM, however there is no time demand on my end in terms of coverage as Meghan attends only a very small number of events annually.
DeleteThank you for keeping it going❣️ There's so much negativity out there about her, yours is one of the few sites to visit free from a derogatory agenda & I so appreciate the research you put into both the Meghan & Catherine blogs. I always learn something interesting beyond the fashion.
DeleteLovely to see the family out and about today. Looks like they enjoyed themselves at the air show. Wonder if Kate will also attend the men's final for Wimbledon.
ReplyDeleteAlways kind of sad when the quiet summer season starts. Will miss royal watching.
Thank you, as always, for your post. Just checking, you are still continuing the 'Chronicling Kate' blog ? Having a slight little panic here!
ReplyDeleteOh, certainly :)
DeleteThank you for the beautiful post, Charlotte! I'm sure the children enjoyed themselves. Both Kate and William look great and the kids are just wonderful... and growing fast! 🥰 Zora from Prague
ReplyDeleteI am so happy about The Royal Digest and to know that you are continuing this blog. Your posts are always so well written and I learn so much from them. You have created a wonderful community of readers. I don't post often, but wanted you to know that your work is appreciated and enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteKerrie, thank you!
DeleteThanks as usual! I'm so happy to read about the Royal Digest. I enjoy reading about royals in addition to Kate, particularly Sophie who has great style and is so pleasant at all of her engagements.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm very happy with your return to the Royal Digest! From time to time I've checked it but nothing got changed since March? Very good decision! Zofia
ReplyDeleteRe Cornwall. William has been out and about in Cornwall recently, but solo.
ReplyDeleteThank you all so much for the support!
ReplyDeleteI thought this event was a really good one for the family to attend and they all looked understated and appropriate (although I thought the kids looked tired at the end of the school year, I bet they've been looking forward to the holidays!).
ReplyDeleteA PP mentioned feeling a bit sad about the start of the quiet 'royal watching' summer season; I feel the same way - reading the blog is usually a few sunny moments of light relief for me and I miss it when the royals take a long summer break! However, I do like to go back and read old posts and start picking out things like 'favourite outfit of the year so far' or 'if I could own three pieces of her jewellery I'd choose...', etc!
I'm reading comments on the quiet couple of months to come. I will most certainly have a series of posts for that period. I have several 'Kate Loves' over 50% completed which will make a nice August filler.
DeleteI will very much look forward to that. I clicked on the link to your Royal Digest blog and was surprised by how many articles there are to read - thank you for all your work on this.
DeleteI'm a great fan of air shows and have attended them since my childhood. I also spent time fairly recently at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. I highly recommend it. Among other attractions, it has some wonderful material on the Wright Brothers, who of course were from Dayton and after whom the big air base there is named.
ReplyDeleteThe Vintage Village photo is a hoot. Thank God we don't wear our hair that way today. I believe the late British mystery writer Ruth Rendell once described one of her characters wearing such a style in the 40s and added that it was just about the most unflattering style imaginable.
This is a very nice blazer, but I feel that it should be worn with something that matches it (like the pictured shorts) or with light-colored trousers (or a skirt) in a lightweight cotton or linen fabric. The navy trousers don't quite work with it, in my view. It would look terrific worn with cream or ivory trousers instead of the navy. It's not a horrible mismatch, just somewhat -- off.
Dear Charlotte, I am very happy to see you posting over on the Digest again. I have continued to check now and then. Sadly, royal blogs covering the mass of them, not necessarily as in depth as you do here, have become rare. You will most definitely see me over there. For all the tiaras at the very least.
ReplyDeleteC.
Thank you so much C, looking forward to seeing you there.
DeleteI personally still greatly miss Order of Splendor, it was my go-to read for years.
I would like to tell you about some ways you can create your material on a single website that would contain all your things in one place including your old duchesskate, madaboutmeghan, and this site. It's a simple process and you deserve your own site!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading since the beginning through my horrible attempt to get sober. I'm standing on the other side of that finally. Your posts were a big part of my self-care during active recovery.
God bless.
Hello Kari, thank you so much for the feedback. It's definitely an option for down the line.
DeleteI'm just delighted to read you are on the other side. Keep looking after yourself Kari. I am so glad these posts played a tiny part in brightening your day. I think that's exactly what royal watching should be about.
I think the blazer is a pretty „meh“. Her plaid/checkered blazers would have looked much better. This beige probably should give the light natural linen vibes but unfortunately looks stiff, ill fitting and the colour washes her out. It makes her skin tone take on an unhealthy beige/yellow look.
ReplyDeleteC.
What a fun treat for the children, and they are growing so fast. The family looked wonderful, and happy.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to see The Royal Digest back! My favorite category is Royal Residences -- so interesting!! Thank you for your time.
ReplyDeleteI wish Kate had worn the shorts with the jacket, but I do like her shoes a lot.
I'm glad all the children were included, and I like their casual style.
Brown and blue go well together so I am not sure why people keep saying it does not. I regularly receive paint manufacturer information and color forecasting/color schemes and there is almost always a brown/blue variation included.
ReplyDeleteI do like the jacket and love the pocket detail.
Border Terrier lover
Dear Charlotte, thank you so much for all your work, the posts are delightful, and much appreciated during my recent recovery from a back injury. I have also saved The Royal Digest to favourites. Will you be providing any coverage on Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (proud Aussie here🇦🇺) Bronwyn, Sydney
ReplyDeleteThank you Bronwyn. CP Mary is a favourite of mine, she will feature regularly :)
DeleteGreat outing for the family good to see them all together. I believe they finished school last Saturday so have been on holiday for almost a week .
DeleteKates jacket is well cut but in my opinion rather pricey.
I do find it strange that they all dress quite differently for the weather - Charlotte looks rather cold in a rather too short summer dress with only a thin & short cardigan then there’s Kate and William in long trousers and jackets. Louis then has a thickish jumper on . TG
I too noticed how different the family members are dressed. As a cold-natured person, I felt a bit chilly just looking at Charlotte’s thin dress and sweater and no socks and
DeleteLouis’ bare lower legs … at least he had a heavy sweater, lol!
There is nothing as exciting as an Air Show. I used to go with my husband to an annual one, there is a lot you can learn. . The Wales’ look good for a rainy day. George is getting tall ! I love the blazer, a summer linen look in silk that will last a long time.
ReplyDeleteI’m very excited to look at the Royal Digest. It will be another feather in your cap of excellent work, Charlotte
Great outing for the family good to see them all together the wales kids are growing fas little louis seems like his mom side
ReplyDeleteI like this outfit but I really love the shorts set on the model! That's not something I would ever expect Kate to wear, but I remember when this style was around in the 90s and it was a lot of fun to wear--comfort and style at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThis blazer looks divine, well made, excellent quality. The Navy pants, are fabulous great fit and length. This was a wonderful visit.
ReplyDelete