Queen Elizabeth Is 'Very Worried' About Prince William, Kate and the Kids Flying in Helicopters: Report

The Queen has been kept "awake at night" by fears over William and his family, including immediate heir Prince George, traveling together by helicopter, The Sun on Sunday reported

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge talks with refugees evacuated from Afghanistan during a visit to a hotel in Leeds
Prince William. Photo: DANNY LAWSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth is reportedly urging Prince William to give up flying via helicopter with his young family.

It has been a long-held convention that the heir to the throne doesn't fly with his family for fear that tragedy might strike, but William has been doing to travel back and forth from London to Norfolk, where he and Kate Middleton have their Anmer Hall country home, according to The Sun on Sunday.

The paper said that the Queen, 95, has told courtiers that she would "like William to stop flying himself, particularly in bad weather, as helicopters are not the safest form of transport. It keeps the Queen awake at night and she is understandably very worried," a source close to the monarch told the paper.

"She knows William is a capable pilot but does not think it is worth the risk for all five of them to carry on flying together, and can't imagine what would happen. It would spark a constitutional crisis," the article continued.

The Queen And Duke Of Edinburgh Open New East Anglian Air Ambulance Base
Chris Jackson/Getty Images

After his father Prince Charles, 73, William is next in line to the throne with Prince George, 8, third in line.

Buckingham Palace tells PEOPLE it "doesn't comment on private conversations."

William is a skilled pilot, learning in the Royal Air Force, where he ultimately flew demanding missions in harsh weather over the Irish Sea and Welsh mountains as a search and rescue pilot. He then went on to work in the civilian sector as an Air Ambulance pilot in East Anglia, the area around his country home Anmer Hall.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit Germany - Day 3
Samir Hussein/WireImage

When William and Kate took a then-9-month-old Prince George to Australia and New Zealand in 2014, an aide said at the time that the Queen had given permission for the two heirs to take the long flight together. "While here is no official rule on this, and royal heirs have travelled together in the past, it is something the Queen has the final say on," the official added.

The practice has been further relaxed in recent years with the arrivals of Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Related Articles