Queen Camilla set to visit RAF base as Royal Family returns to work after summer break
The Queen will meet key personnel at the North Yorkshire base
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Queen Camilla is set to visit an RAF base in North Yorkshire later this week in a grand return to public engagements after summering at Balmoral.
In her role as Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Leeming, the Queen will meet air force personnel, their families and inspect state-of-the-art military technology at the base.
Leeming's Station Commander, Group Captain Paul Hamilton, will greet Camilla and introduce her to members of 11 Squadron QEAF - who train both British and Qatari pilots on Hawk jets.
Alongside stopping by at 11 Squadron, the Queen will be meeting cyber-defence and communications specialists at 90 Signals Unit, as well as No.2 Counter Uncrewed Air Systems - who train up RAF personnel to deal with drone threats like those used by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
The Queen, pictured at RAF Leeming in 2017, is the base's Honorary Air Commodore
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But it's not all high-tech - Camilla will also be toured around RAF Leeming's "wellness area" - a patch of land devoted to allotments, beehives, a greenhouse-style polytunnel and chicken coops for the benefit of personnel and their families' mental health.
There, the Queen will meet the Polytunnel Committee, children from the "RAFA Kidz" nursery, and staff who tend the rare-breed chickens and bee hives at the base.
The visit is set for an impressive end, GB News understands.
Before she departs, Camilla will join members of the base who enjoy the wellness area at a reception before watching a flypast of Hawk jets - piloted by the British and Qatari personnel whom the Queen met at the beginning of her engagement.
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The Queen will watch an impressive flypast before her departure
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In her ceremonial role, Camilla has visited RAF Leeming on numerous occasions in the past.
She last visited the station in March 2017 to mark the Centenary of 100 Squadron.
While more recently, the Queen met Leeming aviators at the RAF Club in August 2023, when she unveiled a portrait of Second World War Agent Noor Inayat Khan.
Servicemen at the base have lauded Camilla on previous visits - following one trip to RAF Leeming, its Senior Medical Officer, Wing Commander Jon Hodgson praised the then-Duchess of Cornwall's "relaxed and friendly" demeanour.
The engagement marks Camilla's return to duties after a summer at Balmoral
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He said: "All the staff were assembled in the waiting room... It was planned to introduce her to some of the key personnel - but I was struck by how relaxed and friendly she was.
"She took time to talk to many different staff, asking about their roles.
"She singled out the cleaner who played a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of the medical centre and spent time chatting to them.
"This gesture made them feel incredibly special and valued for the role they play at the centre - and showed how genuine a person she was."
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