2 months ago 24th Apr 14:00
Britain's Prince William's personal helicopter trips were "naive", the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted.
The government department have apologised for allowing the 25-year-old prince to take five private trips in £10 million RAF Chinook helicopters since the beginning of April.
In a statement, a spokesman for the MoD admitted: "It was clear on occasions that those involved failed to appreciate how the media and public would perceive these flights and in retrospect there was a degree of naivety in the planning of these sorties."
William - who was awarded his 'wings' on April 11 after completing his four-month RAF training - first used a Chinook helicopter for personal reasons when he flew over his father Prince Charles' Highgrove estate, in what was logged as a training flight.
The next day he flew to girlfriend Kate Middleton's parents' home in Berkshire while on April 4 he impressed guests at a wedding in Northumberland by arriving in a Chinook.
Five days later his instructor told him to take a flight in which he would navigate using recognisable points including Sandringham, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth's residence in Norfolk.
Finally, on April 11 William flew a helicopter to pick up his younger brother Prince Harry from London, before flying to the Isle of Wight for their cousin Peter Phillips' stag party.
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