Air today...gone in a dash! Camilla left high and dry
THE Duchess of Cornwall’s air ambulance naming ceremony came to a flying halt yesterday – as paramedics raced off to an emergency call.
Camilla, 73, was unveiling a new £7.5million chopper named in her honour when an alarm sounded and crewmen sprung into action.
Two paramedics who were showing Camilla around made their apologies and took to the skies.
But the Duchess kept her cool during the drama.
She said: “Oh you have to go, of course. Not in this one? This always happens.”
The call-out was for a patient who had suffered head injuries and a seizure.
On hearing the news, the unruffled Duchess added: “Fingers crossed.”
Camilla was guest of honour for the naming ceremony of the AW169 helicopter in Newquay, Cornwall.
She has been patron of the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust for 10 years.
During the unveiling, she pulled back a special Covid-19 facemask on the chopper.
On seeing the tartan nose cone mask, Camilla said: “Oh, she has a facemask on. It is a rather smart mask.”
And after pulling back the mask and seeing it was named in her honour, she added: “Very smart, very nice in gold. God bless all that fly in her. I will keep an eye out in the sky.” The Duchess was all smiles as she was led inside the new helicopter, designed to give paramedics a 360-degree access to the stretcher.
She joked: “Shall I lie down? Don’t cart me off.”
Camilla opened the air base in Newquay in 2012.
The trust is the oldest air ambulance in the UK after launching 33 years ago. Air ambulances have continued to fly during the pandemic.