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Sultan of Brunei pins parachute wings on son at Brize Norton

RAF Sultan of Brunei & sonRAF
The Sultan of Brunei pins the badge to the sleeve of his son's uniform for successfully completing his training

The Sultan of Brunei has presented his son with his parachute wings at RAF Brize Norton after he successfully completed his training.

The ruler carried out the ceremony at the Oxfordshire base on Friday after Prince Abdul Mateen passed the Basic Parachute Course (BPC).

The RAF said the training was a "long and arduous road", requiring physical, mental and emotional resilience.

It said it was "honoured" to host the Sultan as reviewing officer.

Prince Mateen began his military career in the British Army in 2010, rising to the rank of major in 2021.

The Parachute Badge with Wings is awarded by the Army after the training is completed at RAF Brize Norton.

The RAF said Prince Abdul Mateen had spent the past fortnight with 64 other trainees completing the initial training to begin his parachuting career.

Wing Commander Richard Lewis said: "We were honoured to host HM The Sultan of Brunei as Reviewing Officer for the presentation of British Parachutist Wings to draw a successful conclusion to this engagement."

Both the Sultan of Brunei and his son attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday.

RAF ParasRAF
Trainee paras make their way to a RAF Hercules from which they carried out their final low-level descent at night
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