Prince William and Princess Kate's Surprising Travel Rule Is Revealed By a Former Love Islander—And It's Not What You'd Expect
The Prince and Princess of Wales once traveled on British Airways when reality star Helena Ford was a flight attendant.
Prince William often worried Queen Elizabeth when he flew his family in helicopters, ignoring an old royal travel rule of not flying with his heir, Prince George. Although the idea of not having two heirs on the same flight has been done away with, there’s another, lesser-known travel regulation that the Royal Family reportedly follows on commercial airlines—and it’s been revealed by a surprising source.
Former Love Island star Helena Ford, who appeared on season 12 of the U.K. reality show as well as Love Island: All Stars 2026, worked as a British Airways flight attendant before heading into the villa. She recently told the “Private Parts” podcast that Prince William, Princess Kate and their kids flew on BA during her time in the skies, and they were actually not permitted to sit in the best section of the plane.
“I think there is a thing in place where they can't fly in the highest cabin, so if there's a first class, they have to sit in business, and if there isn't a first class, they have to sit in Traveller Plus,” Ford said, adding that the Prince and Princess of Wales flew in business class since their plane also had a pricier first-class option.
Prince William and Princess Kate flew British Airways to Boston for the 2022 Earthshot Prize.
The prince and princess arrive in the Bahamas during their 2022 Caribbean tour.
Members of the Royal Family frequently travel on official government aircraft, but Prince William and Princess Kate have chosen commercial flights for several trips, like their 2016 India tour and their Earthshot Prize visit to Boston. The Princess of Wales even flew in economy with her three children when heading on a short flight to Balmoral in the summer of 2022.
Ford says the Waleses were “coming back from St. Lucia” at the time she served them, likely during one of their trips to Mustique, as commercial flights land there before boarding a private flight to the island.
The ex-Love Islander continued that although the Prince and Princess of Wales flew commercial when she was working, they weren’t seated with average travelers.
The reality star explained that “the whole of business was security, but they were dressed as normal people so you wouldn't know.” Ford also said she wasn’t sure why William and Kate couldn’t fly in the highest class, but revealed “you couldn't call them their own name, they had like, fake names and stuff.”
