The Duchess of Cambridge made a special visit to RAF Wittering near Peterborough yesterday (February 14) to meet with local air cadets.
Her Royal Highness became Royal Patron and Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Cadet Organisation, in December 2015.
ESP was there to see The Duchess as she was introduced to air cadets from the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Wing Air Training Corps, who are taking part in a half-term skills development camp.
The week acts as an initial ‘camp experience’ for cadets who are in their first six months of membership.
Her Royal Highness joined the cadets to view a Tutor aircraft and then climbed aboard to take a look herself, and took part in a personal development training session.
The visit on Valentine’s Day lasted nearly 2 hours and was The Duchess’s third visit to the RAF Air Cadets since The Duke of Edinburgh passed his Patronage to The Duchess, after 63 years serving as Air Commodore-in-Chief.
The RAF Air Cadets is made up of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Force (CCF).
It promotes a practical interest in aviation among both young men and women, providing training and encouraging the development of life skills including leadership and teamwork.
The organisation currently comprises 41,000 air cadets aged 12-19, and 15,000 adult volunteers across the UK and abroad.
You can see more coverage in the March issue of ESP available online on February 21 and in print from February 22.
Photos: Emma Bothamley for ESP Magazine