Kate leaves royal fans astonished after climbing down aircraft's boarding stairs backwards in heels

Princess Kate visits RAF Coningsby on a solo royal outing.

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Royal Pool

Svar Nanan-Sen

By Svar Nanan-Sen


Published: 03/10/2025

- 14:01

Princess Kate was carrying out her first visit to the RAF Coningsby station as the Royal Honorary Air Commodore

Princess Kate has left royal fans astonished after she climbed down aircraft's boarding stairs backwards whilst wearing heels.

The moment from her engagement at RAF Coningsby on Thursday has gone viral on social media.


Royal fans rushed to share their reactions to the Princess of Wales’s effortless manoeuvre.

One wrote: “I wear high heels all the time and no, I wouldn’t have done that so seamlessly and graciously.”

Kate Middleton

Princess Kate has left royal fans astonished after she climbed down aircraft's boarding stairs backwards whilst wearing heels.

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Royal Pool

Another said: “She owned those stairs like a runway. Pure elegance with power in every step.”

A third added: “In reverse, in heels, and still a masterclass in elegance,' while a fourth commented: 'She's so naturally elegant.”

Princess Kate was carrying out her first visit to the RAF Coningsby station as the Royal Honorary Air Commodore.

The engagement gave the royal the opportunity to have a firsthand introduction to RAF Coningsby and the work they do as part of the Royal Air Force.

Kate Middleton

Royal fans rushed to share their reactions to the Princess of Wales’s effortless manoeuvre.

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Royal Pool

Kate received an overview of the work of RAF Coningsby on recent operations, including overseas operations to Poland in support of NATO.

The station was recently awarded the ‘Stainforth Trophy’ for demonstrating excellence in operational activities.

Kate then met a cross-section of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) personnel. QRA is the Royal Air Force's 24/7 mission to protect UK airspace, with RAF Coningsby being one of two QRA fighter stations in the UK, alongside RAF Lossiemouth.

When airspace controllers detect a potential threat or an unidentified aircraft, they trigger an alert, prompting pilots and ground crews at RAF Coningsby to quickly prepare Typhoons for interception.

The Princess of Wales also viewed a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft.

Kate Middleton

The Princess of Wales also viewed a Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft.

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PA

Following this, Kate visited the Typhoon Future Synthetic Training facility.

The newly opened site provides integrated training environments for pilots to train and carry out complex combined training exercises using real world mission software and tactics.

Finally, Kate will visit a communal space called the ‘Lounge’ where the Princess will engage with members of RAF Coningsby’s Welfare Team, and a cross-section of RAF Coningsby personnel, including aviators from Junior Ranks, to hear about their roles and experiences on site.

The Princess of Wales also met families of personnel serving at RAF Coningsby who are essential to providing support to those in service.