Prince William's five Chinook 'joyrides' to visit family and friends revealed

London, April 23 : Prince William flew his RAF chopper over Royal homes and enjoyed free helicopter "joyrides" as part of his introduction to the forces, it has emerged.

The prince's two Special Forces pilots allowed him to make five personal trips while training for his pilot's wings.

These including a flight over Sandringham, the Queen's Norfolk retreat, and a flight over his father Charles' estate in Highgrove, Gloucestershire.

The fresh revelations came after Wills was criticised for flying a Chinook to his cousin Peter Phillips' stag do in the Isle of Wight and landing the helicopter at girlfriend Kate Middleton's home during an official exercise.

However, military sources revealed the three further jaunts.

All five flights, in a double-rotor Chinook, were officially justified as training sorties for the Prince, who was at the controls.

But RAF bosses apologised for "naivety" over some trips, while William admitted they made him look like a playboy.

"It was a collective error of judgment and William is holding his hands up for it as much as the RAF. He's very keen to see the pilots who taught him don't get the blame for it all, as they were only trying to help him," the Telegraph quoted a Clarence House source, as saying.

An RAF spokesman said in a statement: "The training sorties that either allowed Flying Officer Wales to attend private functions or land and take off from a privately-owned field failed to appreciate how the media and public would perceive these activities.

"In retrospect, there was a degree of naivety in the planning of these sorties. However, these stories should not detract from an extremely successful attachment."

ANI