Duke and Duchess of Cambridge forced to cancel engagement after scary flight

Sounds like a scary ordeal.

prince william duchess kate diverted flight pakistan
(Image credit: Getty)

Prince William and Duchess Kate were forced to cancel an engagement after experiencing plane problems. The Duke and Duchess had to divert a flight while in Pakistan.

  • Prince William and Duchess Kate were forced to cancel an engagement after experiencing plane problems.
  • The Duke and Duchess had to divert a flight while on their royal tour in Pakistan.
  • In other royal news, Prince Harry opens up about mother Princess Diana’s death revealing that he feels a “festering wound”.

Prince William and Duchess Kate have been making their way around Pakistan on their first official royal tour to the country.

However, the Duke and Duchess were faced with a scary experience when their flight was derailed because of a storm.

The pair were supposed to be travelling from north-eastern city Lahore, which is the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab region, to the Khyber Pass in the north west.

prince william duchess kate diverted flight pakistan

However, after being unable to land in both the Pakistani Royal Air Force base and a commercial airport, the royals’ aircraft was forced to turn back and land in Lahore in what ended up being a two hour journey that was supposed to take just 20 minutes.

Keeping fans updated with the dramatic flight, the Daily Mail’s royal correspondent Rebecca English wrote on Twitter, ‘Mid-air drama as the RAF Voyager carrying the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had to abandon its landing in Islamabad and return to Lahore due to terrible storms.’

‘The pilot tried to land twice,’ she continued, ‘at two different airports, amid horrendous lightening and turbulence, but was forced to return Lahore for safety reasons.’

prince william duchess kate diverted flight pakistan

‘Fortunately William has taken it in his stride - he just came back down the plane to see if we were ok and joked that he was flying!’

‘A mid-air drama for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - and the entire press pack,’ added Rebecca, ‘as storms force our RAF Voyager to twice abandon landing in Islamabad and return to #Lahore The pilot circled for an hour but the lightening - and turbulence - was so bad we had to fly back.’

‘Few of us have experienced turbulence as bad as that - and it’s fair to say there were are a few 🤢 faces on the flight......’

We’re glad the Duke and Duchess were able to make a safe landing in the end!

Aleesha Badkar
Digital Beauty Editor, woman&home

Aleesha is Digital Beauty Editor at woman&home, where she gets to share her expertise into all the best techniques, sharpest tools and newest products—with a particular savvy in skincare and fragrance.

Previously, she was Deputy Editor and Beauty & Fashion Editor for My Imperfect Life, where she headed up the beauty, fashion and eCommerce pages. In the past, she has worked as Shopping Writer at woman&home, gained an AOP awards nomination after working on their news team, contributed to Women's Health, Stylist and Goodto and earned an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London.