Over the past 96 years, the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was intertwined with the development and advances in aviation and aerospace, which contributed building links with the Commonwealth and which helped make her the most popular British monarch ever, not only in the UK but arguably around the world. Commentary by TIM ROBINSON FRAeS.
Born in 1926, the Queen entered a far different world than the majority of us, when only seven years earlier Alcock and Brown had crossed the Atlantic in a rickety Vickers Vimy, cold, shivering and exposed to the elements. Today it is possible to cross major oceans in comfort at 35,000ft, sip champagne, watch movies while being connected to the outside world by satellites – with about the most discomfort for many passengers being a seat that doesn’t fully recline. Her reign in the last 70 years thus coincided with the dawn of the jet age, and the opportunity and benefits of mass travel for millions.
ACARS message sent out to airliners on 8 September 2022 at 1735Z announcing the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
It was therefore somewhat appropriate that much as the Queen had flown back to Britain from Kenya to take the throne on the death of her father aboard an BOAC Canadair Argonaut in early 1952, it was flight tracking ADS-B websites that showed UK Government VIP jets converging on Aberdeen with members of the Royal Family onboard that helped to cue in the public and media that the statement released by Buckingham Palace that doctors were concerned for her health was much more serious than the words might have suggested. As news of her death broke at 6.30pm UK time, messages were also sent to airliners flying around the globe via the text ACARS system – a modern-day equivalent to ships at sea receiving telegrams about the death of a monarch.
Her Majesty The Queen meeting the Red Arrows in 1969 at RAF Little Rissington. (MoD Crown Copyright)
By virtue of her age, the Queen has witnessed how aviation and aerospace have utterly transformed our modern world – from biplanes to jet engines, and from Sputnik to humans landing on the Moon. In the Second World War, as a teenager she was in London during the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and when it was targeted by V2s in the first ever ballistic missile campaign. She lived to see the sound barrier broken, human-built space probes leaving the Solar System, aircraft flying around the globe non-stop and for over two decades there has been a permanent orbiting outpost crewed by humans in the form of the ISS.
With her position as Head of State, the Queen was also among the first to experience new modes of air travel, whether it was jet airliners, Concorde or helicopters. These were thus essential tools in meeting her subjects and performing her busy Royal duties. As well as speed, aircraft and helicopters also provide privacy and an enhanced level of security than surface transport.
The Queen meeting the Apollo 11 crew of Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. (NASA)
Her position also gave her unique insight and opportunity to meet many of the people that shaped aviation, aerospace and spaceflight in the past century, from heads of industry, air force chiefs, airline CEOs, to NASA astronauts – as well as Prime Ministers, US Presidents and world leaders of the past 70 years of her reign.
The Queen greeted guests after arriving on a Qantas 747 to commence the 1992 Royal Tour of Australia. (Qantas)
The Queen’s use of air transport has arguably played a critical role of the transition of Great Britain from an imperial power to the founding member of the Commonwealth – a global family of nations. Aviation has thus allowed the monarch to personally visit these countries, forging and reinforcing these strong links around the globe and increasing her popularity overseas. While it might be argued that ships or trains could do a similar job, the speed and reach of aircraft has meant the Queen was able to travel far more frequently and pack more international visits in then her predecessors. When one considers the far-flung global reaches of the former British Empire, it is clear how aeroplanes enabled the Queen to build on maintain these links as these countries transitioned to independence. The wider Commonwealth, and the Queen’s role in making it a success with personal face-to-face connections, can be linked to the post-war development of civil air transport.
The Queen, greeted by Archbishop Michael Gonzi, Luqa Airport, Malta, 23 November 1967 (British Airways)
But as the Queen used aircraft to visit foreign countries around the globe, so the emergence of the jet age and the democratisation of air travel since the 1960s has helped in making it possible for people around the world to visit her. It is thus no accident that Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guard and the other pageantry of the Royal Family has become a major global tourist attraction – and like the UK’s music, arts, football and BBC, an extension of the UK’s soft power. Indeed, pre-Covid millions of foreign tourists would visit Britain hoping for a glimpse of the Queen – the ultimate global celebrity. Some in Britain may be baffled by this appeal, but similar in the way how Covid grounded air travel, it is only when something is taken away, do you then realise how much it means to you.
The Queen presenting the Royal Air Force with its new standard in 2018 on its centenary. (MoD/Crown Copyright)
In this link with the history and development of aerospace, and its global reach and power, the Queen is also closely connected with the Royal Aeronautical Society, which is lucky and proud to have had her as its patron and which assumed its Royal title in 1918, only eight years before she was born. Though she was not a pilot or engineer, she has close family links with aerospace and flight – with her husband, two of her sons, and grandsons all learning to fly. Three of them, Prince Andrew, Prince William and Prince Harry became full-time helicopter pilots in their own right, in the RN, RAF and Army respectively – forging a link between the Monarch and her Armed Forces who swear loyalty with their Commission to serve her.
It is noteworthy, as well, that the most prized possession for a British military pilot, the pair of wings, has the Sovereign’s crown over them – and this is not a generic crown, but for the past 70 years has been Her Majesty’s crown. From today onwards, all new pilots in the RAF will receive pilots wings with the King’s crown – another sign of how the Elizabethan age is over.
The Queen visits the HMS Queen Elizabeth supercarrier that bears her name. (MoD/Crown Copyright)
The Royal Family’s links with and use of aviation are likely to continue with the new Monarch – King Charles III, himself a pilot, and with his strong environmental concerns is someone who chimes with the wider goals of the global aerospace sector as they transition to a greener sustainable future.
The Queen become the first Monarch to travel supersonically aboard Concorde. (British Airways)
The descriptor ‘Great’ in mentions of past Kings and Queens in history books, such as Alfred the Great and Catherine the Great, is perhaps an abstract quality that seems more mythical than real to modern eyes. But in Queen Elizabeth – it would be difficult not to argue that here we have another Monarch whom it could plausibly be applied for her service, support and humility. In this era of societal change, technological advances and geopolitical uncertainty – which have all impacted aerospace – the Queen has been an enduring rock of stability for many and seemingly a constant presence.
And, like Concorde on which she travelled, the Queen was a global icon and a symbol of the modern jet age – bringing the whole world together and making it feel smaller through face-to-face contact and air travel.
13 September 2022
As the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, prepares to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee it is worth recalling that her reign began just as the world was embarking on the jet age. STEVE BRIDGEWATER looks at the history of royal f…
The President, Trustees, Council, and members of the Royal Aeronautical Society express their sadness and send their condolences to the Royal Family on the death of Her Majesty The Queen, our Patron.
VIDEO AND AUDIO: This presentation, from Sqn Leader Graham Laurie MVO RAF (Ret) covers the early days of Royal Flying, the formation of The King’s Flight and The Queen’s Flight, up until the present day, together with some personal reminiscences.
Charity Number: 313708