Prince William started a new job Monday for the East Anglian Air Ambulance service in Cambridge, and the royal is “fantastically excited.”
William, who is second in line to the British throne, is the newly
qualified air ambulance pilot, CNN reported. The 33-year-old will fly his H145 helicopter on rescue missions, responding to everything from heart attacks to traffic accidents in four counties around the city.
“For me it's really important to be grounded. I feel doing a job like this really helps with grounding . . . at the core of what I am trying to become,” William said in an interview Monday, according to CNN.
The prince said he hopes to become simply “a good guy, trying to do what you can and trying to be a
decent individual,” according to the Daily Mail.
The prince did admit to “feeling the nerves” on his first day.
Though his royal duties will eventually take over his career, William will balance the two for now as he works part-time in his office.
For his first day, he is working nine and a half hours, and during the first few months he will work a full schedule of four days in flight and four days of rest to get used to the job, the Daily Mail reported.
Nonetheless, Buckingham Palace said the royal will not receive special treatment except for release of official duties, according to CNN.
It’s not just his royal duties William will have to manage, however. With the birth of his second child, Princess Charlotte, earlier this year, the prince will be kept busy.
“At some point there is going to be a lot more pressure and responsibility from the other side of my life, but at the moment I'm juggling the two of them and a young family, and I'm enjoying it, and I like the challenge,” William said, according to the Daily Mail.
“[Charlotte has] been a little joy of heaven but at the same time, it is more responsibility looking after two little ones, especially when [her older brother] George is around,” he continued. “He's a little monkey.”
William will receive a regular wage, which he said he plans to donate to a charity.
The prince previously served as a Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot on an island off the coast of Wales.
Related Stories: