The surprising modest rule Prince William and Kate Middleton follow when flying commercial

While there are very strict and old rules that the Royal Family adheres to when traveling, such as a suit of mourning always in each suitcase, and heir on every plane, they have one rule that is surprisingly rather modest when the Prince and Princess of Wales fly on commercials flights.

A former British Airways flight attendant, Helena Ford, opened up on an episode of the Private Parts podcast, hosted by Olivia Bentley, and shared her knowledge of the royals aboard flights. Apparently, senior members of the Royal Family have to avoid booking the highest fare class available on commercials flights.

The Reason the royals Don’t Sit in First Class

Apparently, during flights that offer a First-class compartment, the Prince and Princess of Wales must be assigned a business class seat. If there is no first-class compartment in the cabin at all they must be seated in the Premium Economy (Traveller Plus) cabin.

“They’re not allowed to sit in the highest cabin,” Ford admitted. She also said that while she flew with them, the rest of the seats in their cabin were occupied by personal security officers in civilian clothes to stay low profile.

In addition, when passengers fly with the Royals, passengers may also have changed names that appear on the flight manifest.

Past and Present Royal Travel rules

The cabin rule is just one more in a long line of traditional royal travel guidelines:

Separation of heirs: Historically, direct heirs to the throne should not travel on the same flight once they reach the age of 12 as a precaution to ensure the continuity of the throne. Former royal pilot, Graham Laurie, once revealed that Prince William had to travel separate from King Charles in 1994 but exceptions can only be made through the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Family travel approvals: The last few years, the public has noticed Prince William and Princess Kate often traveling with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, on international trips and vacations in an effort to keep costs reasonable.

Mourning attire: Every member of the Royal Household carries a suit of mourning within their luggage because when the late Queen Elizabeth II heard of her father’s death in 1952, she didn’t have the attire to wear when she landed in Britain.