The Queen’s Flight: The Private Airline of the Royal Family

For someone who travelled as much as the Queen, it seems only fitting that she should have had her own airline – or at least a dedicated fleet of planes devoted to serving her and the Royal Family

9 September 2022

For someone who travelled as much as the Queen, it seems only fitting that she should have had her own airline – or at least a dedicated fleet of planes devoted to serving her and the Royal Family.

Established as an elite Royal Air Force unit in 1936 during the reign of King Edward VIII, the fleet was known originally as ‘The King’s Flight’.

This fleet of aircraft were charged with the duty of transporting members of the Royal Family by air on short-haul and long-haul flights.

It was renamed ‘The Queen’s Flight’ when Her Majesty came to the throne in 1952 and continued to fly her around the globe in a series of smart fixed-wing planes and helicopters embossed with the Royal Crown until it was disbanded in 1995.

As well as carrying the sovereign in style, The Queen’s Flight was also used to train members of the Royal Family to fly, most notably the Duke of Edinburgh, who received his private pilot’s licence in 1959 and was often seen in the cockpit during the couple’s tours around the world.