The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave Buckingham Palace for Clarence House

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave Buckingham Palace for Clarence House. 

The Duke is driving an Aston Martin DB6.  The convertible Aston Martin Volante DB6 MKII in Seychelles blue is owned by his father HRH The Prince of Wales. The Prince has owned the car since 1969.

In June 2008, at the specific request of The Prince of Wales, who is keen that his cars should be run on sustainable fuel, the Aston Martin was converted to run on E85 bioethanol, made from English wine wastage.

The car is accompanied by a Search and Rescue helicopter in a special fly past.  The Duke of Cambridge is a serving Search and Rescue pilot, based in Anglesey, Wales.

The aircraft and crew are normally based at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk and it was flown by members of ‘B’ Flight 22 Squadron which is the same squadron The Duke is a member of.

The details of the crew are:-

Captain

Squadron Leader Holly Steel was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, in 1978.  She moved to England 1987 with her family but is proud to be from the Colonies and considers herself a Kiwi.  She is currently the Flight Commander of ‘B’Flight.

Co-Pilot

Flight Lieutenant Lee Turner was born in Weymouth, Dorset, in 1979.  He joined the Royal Air Force in Feb 1999 after successful completion of sixth form and flying scholarships. Flt Lt Turner was awarded the Air Force Cross in March 2009 for his role as captain in the recovery of crew members from the stricken ferry ‘Riverdance’ off the coast of Blackpool.  Flt Lt Turner was Prince William’s Flight Commander of during his Search And Rescue training at RAF Valley and flew with him many times as one of his principle instructors.

Radar Operator

Master Aircrew (MAcr) John Caseley was born in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in 1969 and joined the Royal Air Force as an Air Loadmaster in Feb 1988.  His first 2 tours were as a Support Helicopter Crewman on 33 Squadron at RAF Odiham, flying on the Puma HC Mk l.  During his time on the Puma MAcr John Caseley saw service in Norway, Belize, Turkey, Denmark, Mexico and Germany.  In 1995 he was selected for training as a SAR Winchman. In 2009 MAcr John Caseley changed roles and qualified as a SAR Radar and Winch Operator before being posted back to B Flight 22 Squadron, again as Rearcrew Leader, where he has served to the present day.

Winchman

Sergeant Lee Clark was born in Wrexham, North Wales, in 1969. He joined the Royal Air Force on the 8 July 1986, aged 16. He spent 12 years as a Mechanical Transport Driver completing several tours in the UK and 2 tours in Germany. He remustered to Airman Aircrew in 1998 and has deployed to Kosovo, Afghanistan and completed several tours in the Falkland Islands.