King Charles III Has ‘Raised Concerns’ About Prince William’s Use of Royal Family’s Helicopter

Prince William ’s use of the royal family’s helicopter has raised some major concerns for two generations of monarchs.

Earlier this year, King Charles III commented on the Prince of Wales, 42, “piloting his helicopter to fly his entire family around,” royal expert Robert Jobson claims in Catherine, the Princess of Wales , a biography set to be released on Tuesday, August 6.

This is hardly the first time a member of the royal family has commented on William’s helicopter use.

“William had previously upset the late Queen Elizabeth when he defied her by piloting his entire family the 115 miles from Kensington Palace to Anmer Hall in Norfolk,” Jobson writes, adding that the queen recalled a 1967 crash that killed her flight captain. “[Elizabeth] later cautioned William, particularly about flying with his heir Prince George , telling her grandson that he should always be aware of the line of succession.”

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Elsewhere in the book, Jobson notes that the late queen regarded William’s helicopter use as “an unnecessary risk.” She initially “privately voiced her concern” after the prince used the helicopter to fly his family to Anmer Hall on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk for “longer holidays,” Jobson writes.

Per the author, the recent request that William “curb his helicopter use” was made after Charles, 75, was diagnosed with cancer. (Charles announced this past February that he was diagnosed with cancer following a routine prostate procedure.)

“When he refused, the king insisted that he sign a formal acknowledgement of the risks involved and take full responsibility for his actions, a grim reminder of the weight of succession,” Jobson writes.

While discussing his forthcoming biography with Us Weekly exclusively, Jobson said that the questions about William and the helicopter were “first” raised amid “all this nonsense” with Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle . (He appears to be referring to Harry and Meghan’s tumultuous time and subsequent exit from the royal family.)

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“You cannot fly with all your family,” Jobson claimed the queen told William. “And he did. He defied her. And then the king has said exactly the same — and William is pretty much defying him.”

As far as Jobson is aware, William is still using said helicopter.

“Actually, the king got him to write down to say that he knows the problems involved, and it's his responsibility,” the author continued to Us. “I think it's rather naive of him to do it.”

Get more exclusive insight into Robert Jobson’s Catherine, the Princess of Wales in this week’s new issue of Us Weekly .