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Prince William Shares Photo of Himself Standing Alone in Military Gear at Age 17

Fun Fact: The Prince of Wales served in the U.K. military for seven-and-a-half years

Prince William Military Gear CAT2
KIN CHEUNG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

There’s nothing like taking a trip down memory lane with the British royal fam. 

Earlier this week on Instagram, Prince William, 42, posted not one, but two throwback photos of himself taken on separate occasions with the Army Air Corps

In a now-expired Instagram Story, one photo (taken in 1999) shows the then-17-year-old prince standing alone while dressed in military gear from head to toe. As he smiled from ear to ear, the young royal posed in front of a helicopter. 

Another solo pic of the senior royal, which was snapped in 2008, shows a 26-year-old Prince William beaming while sitting in the pilot’s seat of a military plane. FYI, the Prince of Wales joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a military cadet in 2006. He also served as a helicopter pilot during his seven-and-a-half years of military service. 

Prince William Military Throwback Photos CAT
Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram

The posting of these photos coincided with a major occasion: Prince William met with King Charles, at the Army Aviation Centre on May 13, where he was handed the official title of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps by his dad.

A striking photo taken during the joint meeting showed the king proudly standing next to his oldest son in front of a helicopter. And in his hands, the prince is holding an official uniform hat of the Army Air Corps. 

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KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE

This honorary title was originally intended to be given to the king’s youngest son, Prince Harry, who served in the Army Air Corps during his service in Afghanistan. Since the Duke of Sussex stepped down as a senior member of the British royal family in January 2020, the title instead went to his older brother, Prince William.

Keep the royal throwbacks coming!


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Assistant Editor, News And Entertainment

Karelle McKay is the Assistant Editor of News and Entertainment at PureWow. Before she started writing about all things pop culture, she was a literal couch potato who loved...