'This is your king speaking': Dutch monarch Willem-Alexander reveals his secret life flying commercial jets for KLM for 21 years

  • Dutch King Willem-Alexander reveals he flew commercial jets twice a month
  • Father of three, 50, is a qualified pilot who manned KLM Fokker 70 planes
  • He was always co-pilot on flights and said he is 'rarely recognised' by public 

Dutch passengers on KLM flights might have recognized their co-pilot's voice when he introduced himself on the airline's Cityhopper services.

For it was in fact their monarch telling them about the weather conditions and the estimated arrival times. 

King Willem-Alexander, 50, said he has ended his role as a regular 'guest pilot' after 21 years on KLM's fleet of Fokker 70 planes while he previously also flew jets for Dutch carrier Martinair.

He will now retrain to fly Boeing 737s as the Fokkers are being phased out of service.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 27, 2017 file photo, Dutch King Willem-Alexander greets well-wishers during celebrations marking his 50th anniversary on Kingsday in Tilburg, south central Netherlands. King Willem-Alexander told national daily De Telegraaf in an interview published Wednesday, May 17, 2017 that he has ended his role as a regular "guest pilot" on KLM's fleet of Fokker 70 planes after 21 years and will retrain to fly Boeing 737s. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Dutch King Willem-Alexander, pictured, has revealed he was a regular 'guest pilot' for airline KLM for 21 years but has now decided to give it up

Willem-Alexander is a qualified pilot and it was previously known he had sometimes flown KLM passenger flights, but it was not clear how frequently it happened.

De Telegraaf reported that he does it twice a month and as a guest flier, the king is always the co-pilot.

The father of three and monarch to 17 million Dutch citizens calls flying a 'hobby' that lets him leave his royal duties on the ground and fully focus on something else.

'You have an aircraft, passengers and crew. You have responsibility for them,' the king told De Telegraaf. 

It was previously known the King had flown on commercial flights, but the Dutch public were not aware he had been doing it for 21 years (file picture)

It was previously known the King had flown on commercial flights, but the Dutch public were not aware he had been doing it for 21 years (file picture)

'You can't take your problems from the ground into the skies. You can completely disengage and concentrate on something else. That, for me, is the most relaxing part of flying.'

Willem-Alexander said he is rarely recognized by passengers in his uniform, especially since security was tightened on board planes in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

He said: 'Before September 11, the cockpit door was open. People regularly came to have a look and thought it was nice or surprising that I was sitting there.'  

And even when he makes announcements to passengers, Willem-Alexander says that as a co-pilot he doesn't have to give his name.

'But most people don't listen anyway,' he added.

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