In 1962, Prince Philip published a book entitled Birds from Britannia. As a keen bird-watcher and more than competent photographer, the book was illustrated with photographs he had taken during his solo tour of Commonwealth countries. His interest in ornithology came about because of his friendship with Sir Peter Scott, the founder of the World Wildlife Fund. Scott was also a gliding fanatic and was British champion in 1956, so he was responsible for involving Prince Philip in gliding; the prince is still patron of the British Gliding Association.

Philip is a skilled and experienced pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. He confessed that he would have rather joined the Royal Air Force than the navy if he had not had his arm twisted by Dickie Mountbatten. In an essay on test pilots, he wrote: ‘I have to confess I have frequently speculated whether I would like to have been a test pilot . . . I came to the conclusion that a test pilot has an impossible job.’

Despite opposition from the government, particularly Winston Churchill, Philip started flying lessons in 1952. He learned to fly with the RAF at White Waltham and gained his RAF wings in 1953, his helicopter wings with the Royal Navy in 1956, and his Private Pilot’s Licence in 1959. Curiously, he was made an honorary pilot of both the Chilean and Colombian air forces in 1962. He didn’t give up flying until August 1997, by which time he had clocked up over 6000 hours as a pilot in 59 types of aircraft in 44 years. He was grand master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators from 1952 until 2002. In his centenary address to the Royal Aeronautical Society, he said: ‘I find that aviation as a human activity has certain highly individual characteristics. It is as much an enthusiasm as a scientific, technological or commercial undertaking.’

To this day, Philip uses helicopters as often as possible and wrote a tongue-in-cheek treatise on helicopters in which he said: ‘I make frequent use of helicopters and indeed I very much enjoy flying them myself but I have sadly come to the conclusion that the time has come to ban the helicopter.’ He goes on to state the unfair advantages that helicopter users enjoy, concluding: ‘If the disappearance of the helicopter is assured we shall all be able to hold our heads high as we march steadily back towards the caves our ancestors so foolishly vacated such a long time ago.’