The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge experienced a rather terrifying experience on the fourth day of their royal tour of Pakistan when the plane they were on was forced to make an emergency landing after being caught in a storm on their way to Islamabad.
Following a day of engagements in the city of Lahore, the couple and several members of the press took William and Kate’s royal airforce plane back to the capital of Islamabad – a flight which is usually only 25 minutes but ended up being two hours.
However, after being unable to land at the Pakistani Royal Air Force base as well as a commercial airport, the plane was forced to turn back to Lahore.
Following the heavy turbulence, Prince William asked media on the flight if they were okay, with the former air ambulance pilot joking, “I was flying!”, ITV‘s royal reporter Chris Ship, who was on the flight, reported.
“After shaking around in the air, the RAF Voyager used for #royalvisitPakistan turned around and has landed back in Lahore (where we started),” Chris tweeted.
Adding, “If I’m honest… that was the most nervous I’ve ever felt in a plane.”
Press Association reporter Emma Louise Bowden also tweeted a video of the terrifying lightning seen outside the window, writing: “Those big flashes are the RAF Voyager, carrying William, Kate and travelling media, going through [lightning].
“Two aborted landings at Islamabad due to the storm and we’re back in Lahore.”
The plane reportedly re-fuelled in Lahore, with another attempt to fly to Islamabad scheduled for later that night.
Earlier in the day, the couple visited an SOS Children’s Village in Lahore which provides a home and family structure for more than 150 young girls and boys.
The royal couple then joined the National Cricket Academy, where they took part in a match with children participating in the British Council’s DOSTI programme – Dosti means ‘friendship’ in Urdu – and also paid a poignant visit to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, a hospital also visited by Prince William’s late mother Princess Diana in 1996 and 1997.
There the couple visited the children’s ward where they spent time with patients undergoing treatment, spoke with their families and even joined them for ‘tiaras and tea’.
The couple wrapped up their day in the walled city with a visit to the iconic Badshahi Mosque where they joined a discussion with faith leaders to learn how they are promoting interfaith harmony within their communities.
The day in Lahore marked William and Kate’s fourth and second-to-last day in the Asian country, a visit requested by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The couple’s visit has focussed on education and highlighting the importance of quality education for girls and women, as well as witnessing and stressing the importance of urgent climate action, as well as paying respect to the historical relationship between Britain and Pakistan.