The Prince William effect: East Anglian Air Ambulance donations trebled after Duke of Cambridge became pilot

The Duke of Cambridge in the cockpit of an East Anglian Air Ambulance helicopter
The Duke of Cambridge in the cockpit of an East Anglian Air Ambulance helicopter Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Donations from businesses to the East Anglian Air Ambulance trebled in a year after the Duke of Cambridge started working for the charity as a pilot.

Accounts show that corporate donations have risen from £55,101 in 2015 to £163,082 in 2016 thanks to what is being described as the Prince William effect.

The increase shows that more companies have wanted to become involved with the charity since the Duke began working at its Cambridge base in July 2015.

The Duke of Cambridge checks his helicopter 
The Duke of Cambridge checks his helicopter  Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The Duke and his colleagues carried out 2,046 missions from June 2015 to July 2016, according to the EAAA's annual report that has just been published.

During this time, they helped 1,377 patients across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. 

The records also reveal that the charity spent £1.5 million on new offices at Cambridge Airport for the Duke and his colleagues last year.

They unveiled six months after the Duke started working for the charity and opened by the Queen in July 2016.

The Prince William effect has been credited with a surge in business donations to the East Anglian Air Ambulance
The Prince William effect has been credited with a surge in business donations to the East Anglian Air Ambulance Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA

The charity appealed to local businesses to provide equipment to furnish it, such as fridges and 55-inch televisions, but the financial records show it also spent £300,000 kitting out the base. The furnishings include a PlayStation, a fridge and cappuccino machine.

The two-storey base, where the Duke and his colleagues relax between missions, also has LED lighting and sound proofing to reduce noise levels from the airport.

While the latest financial records show the corporate donations have increased since the Duke joined the charity, public donations from collecting tins have dropped.

The charity has received six per cent less money in its collecting boxes since 2015.

The Duke of Cambridge started work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance in July 2015 and is on a roster of day and night shifts which last nine and a half hours.

He flies an EC145 T2 aircraft and in common with all other East Anglian Air Ambulance pilots, he is formally employed by Bond Air Services and draws a salary which he donates to charity.

It has been reported that he is due to leave the EAAA this summer.

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