David Beckham joined forces with the Prince of Wales to celebrate smashing a £15 million target to replace London’s ageing air ambulance helicopters.
William invited the former England football captain to get into the cockpit of one of the two new aircraft that will help ensure the vital service for Londoners continues for years to come.
Beckham met the prince at RAF Northolt in west London, where the two new helicopters were on display next to the aircraft they replaced.
The Prince of Wales with David Beckham sitting in the cockpit of one of the new London Air Ambulance Charity helicopters (Aaron Chown/PA)
The future king is patron of London’s Air Ambulance Charity which runs the service and when he met crew members he joked “don’t break it”.
William personally approached Beckham to be the public face of the Omaze house draw which raised £4 million for the charity’s Up Against Time helicopter appeal, which had a target of target £15 million but passed it, collecting £16 million.
The sporting star said: “We’re here today to celebrate … the success of the fundraiser for London’s air ambulances which is something close to my heart and has been for a number of years.
“I’m an East End boy so every time we saw them in the air it made us very proud.
“As soon as I was asked to be involved by Prince William it was something I was very honoured (to do) in all honesty.”
David Beckham poses for a selfie with members of the Air Ambulance crew during the visit (Aaron Chown/PA)
He added: “It’s something that’s been a part of London for a long long time, over 35 years of incredible work that the pilots do and the medics do, the millions of lives they’ve saved over the years is something I was very proud to be invited to be part of.”