JETTING OFF... FOR ONE’S HOLIDAYS
THE Queen and Prince Philip left behind five months of lockdown yesterday as they jetted off for their annual holiday in Balmoral.
The Royal couple were driven from Windsor Castle to RAF Northolt, west London, to begin their traditional summer retreat in the Highlands.
But the 500-mile trip to Scotland on a private jet that once belonged to a football club chief may have ended with them feeling on the damp side.
Weather
The weather was warm and sunny when they took off – but they arrived at Aberdeen airport to grey drizzle.
The Queen, 94, donned a rain mac over her smart powder blue suit as she left the plane, followed by her 99-year-old husband wearing a sturdy waterproof coat.
They were followed by aides carrying luggage and two cute “dorgis”, the Queen’s beloved cross between a dachshund and a Welsh corgi.
It is expected the couple will remain at the 50,000-acre estate, bought by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert, until October.
They had been isolating at Windsor, tended to by just a small retinue of staff, since the beginning of the coronavirus emergency in March.
It was from the castle that the Queen made her stirring national address in April, echoing Dame Vera Lynn’s famous wartime song to tell people: “We will meet again.”
Yesterday’s flight was on a 13-seat Embraer Legacy 600 jet once owned by Tottenham Hotspur chairman and businessman Daniel Levy.
Private charter company Luxaviation charge about £18,000 for the trip aboard the jet, which has the registration G-THFC.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have used the aircraft before.
Luxaviation’s website says it has a “stunning interior providing comfort and privacy, making any journey as relaxing as possible”.