Royal secret out: Dutch king reveals he has been a commercial pilot for 21 years

By India Today Web Desk: And you thought only the British Royal family has cool stories to tell.

King Willem-Alexander, the current king of the Netherlands, has sent the internet into a tizzy by spilling the beans about his secret life. Turns out, his Highness likes to fly high.

King Willem-Alexander recently revealed in an interview to a Dutch newspaper that he has been a “guest” pilot for a commercial airline for the past 21 years.

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And for 21 years, no one in the world knew about this.

‘This is your Royal Highness speaking’ pic.twitter.com/koDBlHWqa8- Royal Dutch Airlines (@KLM) May 17, 2017

The 50-year-old, who is a father of three and a king to some 17 million Dutch citizens, said that he regularly piloted flights for a subsidiary of the Dutch flag carrier, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

But of course, flying a plane stuffed with people, even as a “hobby”, cannot be all about fun.

“You have an aircraft, passengers and crew. You have responsibility for them,” the king told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf . “You can’t take your problems from the ground into the skies. You can completely disengage and concentrate on something else.”

For Willem-Alexander, however, this was “the most relaxing part of flying,”.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PASSENGERS WHO SAW HIM?

The king, who got his military pilot’s license as a member of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, said that the “rarely recognized him”.

As for pilot announcements, he did that in incognito too.

“I can always say that I wish everyone a heartfelt welcome in the name of the captain and the crew,” he said. “I don’t have to say my own name. But most of the people don’t listen anyway.”

King Willem-Alexander, we hope you continue to get ‘the best of both worlds’.

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