Royal honour as Prince of Wales oversees RAF Cranwell graduates at Sovereign's Parade

A newly commissioned officer has described the honour of graduating in front of the Prince of Wales as he acted as the reviewing officer at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

Prince William visited the Lincolnshire base, the same base where he trained to be an officer and helicopter pilot, meeting 52 newly graduated officers and receiving the Royal salute on the parade square.

Newly commissioned Pilot Officer Alexandra Manser-Jeffery said: "It's an incredible honour, for him to be here representing his father, King Charles, himself an Air Force pilot. 

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"It's the greatest honour, I think, any of us could have wished for. And his speech was incredibly moving."

"He made time for everyone," said Pilot Officer Manser-Jeffery. "So, to have him here and for him to be invested in us and our future careers, it's a real honour.

"It's the culmination of hard work, being away from our families, and being able to celebrate with them in this setting today – it's such an honour."

The Prince of Wales told the new RAF officers that the country would be relying on them to deal with future threats, particularly during the present "time of change and uncertainty".

During his visit, he made time to speak to as many officers as possible.

Meeting the Prince came as an incredible reward following 24 weeks of training, which put the cadets through leadership challenges and exercises.

The Prince of Wales said: "Whilst I didn't graduate on this exact parade ground, I did graduate from flying training here so I know something about the celebrations that will come later so, I promise, I'll only take a few minutes of your time.

"I do want to take this moment though, to highlight not only the importance of your achievements to date but also that of the roles you will play in supporting the futures of your countries' air forces.

"I say 'your countries', as I know that in addition to our newest Royal Air Force officers on parade today, there are also officers from Jordan, Kenya, Pakistan and Uganda.

"Multi-national relationships are key to international defence, security, and peace.

"The relationships you have formed through training will be key in allowing you to achieve success in future roles, and enhancing the security of all our nations."