William opens up about ‘sad, dark’ job moments

Prince William yesterday gave a candid insight into life as an air ambulance pilot — from coping with dark moments to enjoying “banter” with his team.The Duke of Cambridge opened up about his job with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) in an interview with the BBC Future website.He said the most challenging emergency he has dealt with since starting his role last July “was to do with burns. There’s one job in particular that was really quite nasty and I don’t know how the medical crew dealt with it either because they came to the rescue and did everything they (could) and sadly the casualty was beyond help”.He added: “There are some very dark moments. You try not to take it away, but sometimes…it can be quite difficult.” William, 34, insisted he wanted to find a civilian job after completing his tour of duty as search and rescue pilot with the RAF in 2013. He divides his time between the EAAA and his official royal duties. He said: “I really look forward to coming here every day. And I love working as a team: that’s something that my other job doesn’t necessarily do: you are more out there on your own a little bit.” He added: “I want to be a valuable member of the team…at the end of the day (I want to) feel like I have made a difference and a contribution to whatever it is I’ve done that day.” His colleague, Captain James Pusey, said: “He’s very good with advice and parenthood — in terms of good tips”. William laughed and replied: “Dishing out parent advice”.They also spoke about the importance of “banter”, with William saying: “It helps de-stress and it also brings us together. Because if you share the same, in some cases, sad incidents then, if you can get over it together, by being able to talk about it in the future, being a close team you come away with a collective way of dealing with it together and (it) helps you move on to whatever you’ve got to do next.”Inside The Trauma Team Where Prince William Is A Pilot, a multimedia project produced by BBC Future, was released yesterday to coincide with National Air Ambulance Week and is available at bbc.com/future.Meanwhile, Canadians have been warned against taking selfies with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they begin their tour of the country this weekend. The department of Canadian Heritage has told those scheduled to meet the couple that there will be not be enough time to take pictures with them.