Kate Middleton & Prince William: Leicester City Helicopter Crash

[Guest]

PRINCE William and Kate were scheduled to fly with their three children on the doomed Leicester City helicopter shortly after it suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure.

The Duke of Cambridge was friends with hero pilot Eric Swaffe and was excited about taking his family on a trip on the AgustaWestland aircraft that crashed seconds after taking off from the King Power stadium a year ago today.

Kate Lechowicz, the sister of Eric’s fiancé Izabela Lechowicz, opens up about how she was comforted by Wills and Kate in the wake of the tragedy that killed five people including her sibling and the pilot.

IT worker Kate revealed: “Prince William loved flying and he got on really well with Eric – they had flown together a number of times.

“He told me he loved his quirky sense of humour and had huge respect for his abilities as a pilot.

“They were scheduled to fly together again in November just a short time after the helicopter crashed. William had told Eric, ‘Next time it will be with Kate and the kids.’

“He said it will be a nice day out for him and the family.”

Heartbroken Kate broke her silence ahead of travelling to a private ceremony today to mark the one year anniversary of the disaster that also claimed the lives of Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and two of his staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kave**** Punpare.

Surrey-based pilot Eric, 53, was hailed as a hero after the crash as he managed to steer the stricken aircraft away from the stadium, a nearby Holiday Inn hotel and a National Grid building – saving countless lives.

Married mum-of-one Kate, 35, from London, reveals Wills – a former pilot with the air ambulance service in East Anglia - and Eric first flew together in September and had become firm friends.

They were so close that Wills, 37, felt safe bringing his wife, 37, and children Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one, on their next trip.

She said: "We met Prince William and Catherine after the crash and they kindly spent 10 minutes talking to us.

“William told me that he remembered Eric’s quirky sense of humour.

“He once asked Eric how he had him stored in the contacts book on his phone and he admitted he had him down as ‘Ben Brown’

“He also told me they spent a huge amount of time going over safety and security and “William used to make fun of him, asking, ‘Can we finally fly now?’

“It was really nice of them to comfort us like they did.”