Duke of Cambridge prepares for East Anglian Air Ambulance missions in summer

Prince William carried out more than 150 missions as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot

The Duke of Cambridge has started training to become a pilot of the East Anglian Air Ambulance in the summer.

Prince William is working with Bond Air Services and will under go job-specific training before he flies missions, Kensington Palace said.

The mandatory training will involve simulator, helicopter aircraft and in-flight skills training.

The charity, which has bases in Norwich and Cambridge, ordered a new £1.7m helicopter four years ago.

It will come into service in Cambridge in April and is set to be flown by Prince William.

Professional pilot

The air ambulance attends emergencies across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

In his new role with the charity he is due to earn about £40,000 a year but the after-tax salary will be donated to charity.

Prince William gave up his role as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot in September 2013.

During his seven years flying Sea Kings, he carried out more than 150 missions and completed more than 1,300 flying hours.

Prince William has begun work a few weeks ahead of the birth of his second child and is likely to take paternity leave, as he did for his first child Prince George, born in July 2013.

In November 2013 a police helicopter operated by Bonds crashed into a pub in central Glasgow killing the civilian pilot and two police officers onboard, six people on the ground, with another dying two weeks later from injuries received in the pub.