On June 18th Princes William and Harry gave a pooled interview at the RAF base in Shawbury where they were training at the Defense Helicopter Flying School. The brothers spoke about their training and hopes for the future in their most teasing and lighthearted interview to date. The following is a full transcript of that interview.
Interviewer: We're going to interview you both together.
Harry: You're serious?
Interviewer: Well, you're brothers.
William: Brothers not lovers. There's a difference.
Interviewer: We've got our sound bite.
Interviewer: Harry could I start with you because obviously the focus is on you today primarily. You were talking recently about the struggle, how much of a struggle has it been?
Harry: Um, I think the struggle I was talking about was mainly the exams and stuff like that. Well, the helicopter course you start with, something like 4 or 5 weeks of ground school and exams. Exams have never been my favorite and I always knew that I was going to find it harder then most people, but I'm through that now and finally got hands on to a job that I absolutely adore. Its still hard work but I'm better then William so its fine.
William: Ha, ha yeah. Just like that.
Interviewer: Have you been helping him with his exams?
William: Uh, yeah, an awful lot. He needs a lot of help. It's the RAF way. You have to help the Army out quite a lot.
Interviewer: What does it come down…is there a mental Maths tests?
William: Yeah, there's a bit of that. A few trick questions, try and catch him out.
Interviewer: Seven eights?
William: Yeah, exactly. Lots of that.
Second Interviewer: I bet you couldn't answer that Peter.
Interviewer: 56? But Harry, seriously, is this fundamentally and crucially about getting back to the frontline?
Harry: It is. I've always had a love for helicopters. I've always wanted to be a pilot, mainly of helicopters more than fixed wing. Even though I'm slightly under the impression that fixed wing is probably easier then helicopters especially as these things [gestures to training helicopter] aren't designed to fly. But I'm really enjoying it and as everyone knows it is my easiest way of getting back onto the frontline. Maybe safer, maybe not safer I don't know but there's a bit of pressure from certain places, which I'm sure you're aware of, of the reasons why I'm allowed to go back and if I do go back then apparently I can't do the same job as I had. So I'm looking somewhere different and more of a challenge to try to become a helicopter pilot.
Interviewer: So was it made pretty clear to you after the last time that you were in Afghanistan that it would be your first and last time. That it would be too risky for you to go back as a soldier.
Harry: More of the fact that I think the media had said they wouldn't keep their mouths shut if I went and did the same job so I had to do something different if I wanted to go. So, yes.
Interviewer: So you are hopeful, confident and passionate that you do get back by this means? That you get back to the frontline?
Harry: Massively so, unless they stop flying helicopters out in Afghanistan soon, which hopefully they won't do. But, you know, as I said I love flying helicopters, or I’m loving flying helicopters at the moment. I just hope that I can be better then the best. You know, I always strive to be spot on, but, you know, as I said, to get out to Afghanistan again would be fantastic and my best chances are in a helicopter, to do it from a helicopter. So—
William: And have you off the ground yet?
Harry: Sorry?
William: Have you got off the ground yet?
Harry: I've just got off the ground, yeah, thank you.
William: Oh, okay.
Harry: Thanks for asking.
William: I was just checking.
Interviewer: Can I ask Harry, what do you hope to fly? Apache, Lynx, Gazelle?
Harry: I'm a bit of a Lynx lover. Since I've started this course--I shouldn't have really said that. I should be selling the Apache. I love the Apache as everyone does. I don't think you will ever hear anyone say bad things about Apache. Brain capacity, I don’t know if I've got it for the Apache, but you never know that until halfway through the course when actually they judge you on it. But if you'd got personal preference I'd probably chose Lynx for the simple fact that the instructors I've had so far have been Lynx pilots. And I think Lynx is a more challenging--it's more my cup of tea than Apache, that's how I feel. My opinion may change halfway through.
Interviewer: But it's your goal to be back there in Afghanistan in a Lynx in maybe a year's time?
Harry: Um, when they--when they let me.
William: What in a year?
Harry: When I'm good enough. Which could be about 5 years time. Yeah, I'll fly whatever I'm told to fly and I'll fly wherever I'm told to fly.
Interviewer: So this is quiet a special moment for you two. This is possibly the last time you will ever be living together.
Harry: First and last time we will ever be living together I assure you about that.
William: It's been a fairly emotional experience, yeah.
Second Interviewer: How much inter-service rivalry is there between you two?
Harry: None at all.
William: No, none at all, really.
Harry: Everyone knows the Army is better than the RAF.
William: I'm an old Household Calvary boy anyway so it's fine.
Harry: Witness the horse there.
William: Its good banter between the Army pilots and RAF pilots as well. And Navy pilots they're just in the background, they don't do anything, so it's fine.
Third Interviewer: And would you live together again bearing in mind this experience?
William: Well, bearing in mind I cook him and feed him basically everyday I think he's done rather well.
Second Interviewer: I thought he said the other week that he did all the washing up?
William: He does do a bit of the washing up but he leaves most of it in the sink and he comes back in the morning and I have to wash it up.
Harry: Ahhh, the lies. The lies.
Second Interviewer: Do you find yourself tidying up after him?
William: Yeah, a fair bit of tidying. He snores a lot as well. Keeps me up all night long.
Harry: They're going to think we're sharing a bed now.
William: Ah, no. I think it's very important we say that.
Interviewer: And it's somebody’s birthday on Sunday. Are you a bit nervous? Any presents you want your brother to get for you?
William: Basically he's probably only literally just realized that you said that now and hasn't gotten me a present. But I wouldn't expect anything else anyway. I'll be lucky to get a card.
Harry: It's not obvious that he's growing old is it?
Second Interview: What's your favorite experience of being in Shropshire so far?
William: Um, both of us really enjoyed it actually. It's been good fun. We've both been stuck on base so we haven't really manage to get out and sample the delights of Shrewsbury. Ah, but been to town a few times. Enjoyed watching Shrewsbury do quite well at the playoffs, unfortunately didn't manage the last final bit. But, yeah, it's been good. We've really enjoyed it.
Harry: I haven't had much chance to get out at the moment. It's the Army we work harder so—and we haven't got as much time.
William: All gag, all gag move on.
Second Interviewer: How much of Shropshire have you got to see and what bits of it have stood out?
Harry: Shawbury!
William: Shawbury, really, yeah.
Second Interviewer: You fly over it quite a lot.
William: Yeah, we do a lot. A lot of flying around. A lot of hours in the sky.
Interviewer: Is there a limit to what you can drink at the moment?
Harry: Sorry? While flying?!
William: There is a limit Peter! There's always a limit.
Harry: While flying I think there probably is a limit! Don't know what the limit is but I'm sure there is one.
Third Interviewer: It's tough enough to do a course like this on your own with the whole world watching and your high achieving older brother watching, does it increase the pressure?
William: I don't think that's quite fair. He's doing a fantastic job. He puts himself down but generally he is seriously well—I've talked to his instructor and stuff like that and he's doing a fantastic job. So, you know, he's just very modest about it. But he's doing very well.
Harry: To answer that though I think there's a massive amount of pressure on everybody in the forces at the moment for a start. And, you know, we’re both here just doing our bit trying to become helicopter pilots and we're having a fantastic time. Yes it's hard work but everything is hard work nowadays. Yeah, sometimes there's added pressures but you deal with it, you get on with it. The helicopter course is a very strenuous course but he's [points to William] managed to get through it so I reckon I can.
William: I just said something nice; you can say something nice.
Harry: [Puts arm around William] He's great, he's great.
William: At the end of the day though it training its—training is training. You're under pressure as long as you're being taught and you're getting things right. Like he's pointed out the guys that are doing operational stuff, you know, far harder hours, work nonstop through the night and through day and they're the guys that get the real praise for everything that goes on.
Third Interviewer: You're over the hump; you were worried about the theory and the exam work. Do you feel that with that behind you the rest is a piece of cake?
Harry: I'm not sure, I think both of us—he's definitely got more brains then me—we've established that from school. But when it comes to all that I'm much better hands on—
William: I've got all the brains and looks as well obviously.
Harry: And the baldness.
Second Interviewer: When are you flying solo?
Harry: Sorry?
Second Interviewer: When are you flying solo?
Harry: When am I flying solo? When I'm ready. Hopefully sometime next week depending on the British weather. But we'll have to wait and see. But, it's fantastic, it really is.
Interviewer: Did you just have a dig at his baldness?
William: [Laughs] Several digs in there.
Harry: What, sorry?! His baldness? No.
William: Pretty rich coming from a ginger so I'm quite happy to let go of this one—
Harry: Well, ah . . .[Points off shot at interviewer]
William: But he's a good-looking ginger so it's all right.
Harry: Peter's both.
Interviewer: Thanks very much.
Second Interview: I just want to ask about your training and how it's going.
William: It's going very well, Rebecca. Its, um, I've moved off of the Squirrel now being a [indistinguishable] period RAF pilot I now move on to the Griffin. And its good fun. It's more of a crew atmosphere so I've got guys at the back. It really weird, you're flying along and you've got these random voices in your ear that you can't even see and they sort of respond—
Harry: 'Cause they're your crew.
William: Yeah exactly. At least you’re not hanging off a skid, yeah, just random voices, yeah. But, no, it's good fun. It's quite a long way to go yet before I finish but I'm looking forward to a few challenges ahead and flying.
Second Interviewer: And how important is it to you where you actually are getting an operational role because obviously there are certain constraints.
William: Well, yeah, these constraints—
Harry: He's not happy.
William: We always talk about. To me it—I didn't join the forces to be, like I've said lots of times before, mollycoddled or treated any different. And as far as I'm concerned, in my eyes, if Harry can do it then I can do it. I don't really separate us with that much difference. I think as future head of the Armed Forces its really important that I was—that I at least get the opportunity to be creditable and to do the job that I signed up for and to do the best I can. And that's all I ever wanted to do. The Search and Rescue is now slightly different to getting to Afghanistan but it's still doing an important job and—
Harry: Still going in the right direction.
William: Yeah, I hope its still going in the right direction, exactly, for the future.
Second Interviewer: And this is something for you in sort, medium or long term?
William: It's sort of—probably at the moment it's a short, maybe medium term. You know, five years, four years at the most I should have thought. And then, you know, we'll wait and see what happens after that.
Interviewer: You seem to be hinting that an operational role isn't an impossibility.
William: In my mind--of course you talk to everyone else and its impossible--but I still remain hopeful that, you know, there's a chance.