Netherlands king admits he worked as a pilot for KLM secretly for 20 years

Everybody wishes they had a secret life as a powerful, famous individual. But when you’re powerful and famous, what do you wish for? For King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, it’s to be a commercial airline pilot.

Recently the king told Holland’s Telegraaf newspaper that he’s been moonlighting a few times a month for a KLM airlines affiliate for more than two decades flying the airline’s Cityhopper flights and now he’s training to take on a Boeing 737.

“You can completely switch off and focus on something else,” he told the Telegraaf. He said it is impossible to fly a plane if you bring “problems from the ground with you.”

KLM pilot Maarten Putman, who regularly flies with the King, told the Telegraaf that Willem-Alexander is an excellent co-pilot.