A community hub felt "proud" to host Queen Camilla as her helicopter touched down in Bristol - but said she didn't stick around to enjoy one of their bargain breakfasts. HRH visited the city last week for her first solo trip since the Coronation, with one of the royal helicopters seen touching down at the Port of Bristol Sports and Community hub (POB).
Queen Camilla was escorted out of the G-XXEB Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter last Thursday. Dan Clifton, who chairs POB, a local community and sports hub in Shirehampton, said he had been notified of a royal visit to their grounds some months ago but had been sworn to secrecy.
Inspections were carried out on the grounds prior to the helicopter landing but he was only informed an hour in advance that the royal visitor was the newly crowned Queen. Mr Clifton and the team at POB are known for providing bargain breakfasts and free meals to school children during holidays and were hoping to invite Queen Camilla inside for a bite to eat.
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But she remained on the site for around 10 minutes which was just enough time for the Queen and her entourage to exit the helicopter and enter the chauffeur-driven Audi A8, 2022. Mr Clifton said: “We were told it had to be kept under wraps, obviously they couldn't tell us who was landing and we only found out who it was not even an hour before the landing.
"It turned out it was the first time the newly crowned Queen had gone anywhere solo and her first steps were on our grounds, which we are proud of.
“It's a shame we couldn't have got her in for one of our famous £3 breakfasts, but we were only a stop off for her as she was opening a library in our nearby Shirehampton primary school. It was a shock for local residents and our lucky customers who had no idea what was going on, seeing the huge royal helicopter coming in to land, it attracted quite a crowd.
“The site has been previously used twice in the past for royal visits and it will be continued to be used in the future. The police and security were really helpful and also allowed for a quick photo for me before it took back off which was really nice of them. It was only on the ground for around 10 minutes before leaving but keep an eye out again as it could happen very soon.”
Tracking data shows that the G-XXEB helicopter travelled from Odiham to London heliport on Thursday morning and was in the air for a total of 17 minutes. It then returned to Odiham RAF base in Hampshire at 1.04pm the same day before stopping at a location ‘near London’, with the duration of the second trip being recorded as one hour and 18 minutes in the air.
In anticipation of Queen’s arrival, Mr Clifton was tracking the helicopter which flew over Reading and then Chippenham before disappearing off the radar. The helicopter arrived at 12.10pm in Bristol and stopped for a brief period before flying off again.
Gloucestershire Live reported in 2022 that the UK taxpayer forked £86.3 million on royal travel costs last year, with the most expensive Royal visit being Kate and William’s Caribbean tour (£226,383). At the time, Charles’ private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton said that the king is “pretty allergic” to travelling by helicopter and will always “raise an eyebrow” and object when the mode of transport is suggested.
“There is this rigorous process that you only get to top-end travel options if every other option fails,” added Sir Alderton. Between 2021-2022 a total of 179 official helicopter journeys were made by members of the Royal Family, reportedly costing around £15,000 each.
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Queen Camilla at Bristol school in first solo visit since the Coronation
