Historically, royals – from Britain, the Middle East and elsewhere – have done their fair share of time in the military. They’ve taken pride in being able to do this commendable thing as part of their lifetime of service to their countries. Here we take a look at five royals who all served in the forces: Sheikha Aisha bint Rashid Al Khalifa Sheikha Aisha was the first female from the Bahraini royal family to fly a military plane – setting a massive precedent for women in the country and the Middle East as the whole, helping to pave the way for others to cherish such a not-so-long-ago-impossible dream. Smoking, boxing and fashion – 10 cool, real, young British royals She flew a BAE Hawk warplane in 2018 and like many male royals from the region, went on to study at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK. She currently serves as a pilot officer in the Royal Bahraini Air Force. Prince William The Duke of Cambridge served in the military for more than seven years from 2006 as a guards officer and then as a helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force. For the latter role, he was posted to the Welsh island of Anglesey from where he flew missions that saved many lives across the hills of North Wales and especially from the frigid Irish Sea. 5 habits of Britain’s Prince William which might seem strange for a royal Prince Harry Having joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2005 as part of British royal protocol, Prince Harry spent a decade in the military. This included being stationed in Afghanistan twice, once as a Forward Air Controller and then as an Apache helicopter co-pilot. He was said to be a natural pilot and attained the rank of captain while on active duty. Besides the danger, he also had to accommodate living in difficult conditions on the ground. He told The Guardian , “It wasn’t that hard for me to adapt to the incredibly tough life of the army. I simply forgot about my royal status. This way, I was able to enjoy my life in the army.” Where British royals most loved to chill – before holidays became a no-no Sineenat Bilaskalayani Born Niramon Ounprom, she graduated from Army Nursing College in 2008, then entered combat training including jungle warfare and parachuting. She also gained a private flying license in Germany and trained with the Thai Air Force on fighter jets. She attained her highest rank of Major General in the army in July 2019 while consort of Thai King Rama X who had given her the noble name of Sineenat Bilaskalayani upon his accession to the throne. However, in October 2019, all her ranks and titles were stripped from her over alleged conflict with Queen Suthida. 5 things to know about the Thai king’s former royal consort King Abdullah II of Jordan King Abdullah enrolled at the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the 1980s to complete his military education. During this period, he was still working as a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces. Once graduated from Sandhurst, he was appointed as a second lieutenant in the 13/18 battalion of the British Royal Hussars, before moving to the Jordanian Armed Forces to captain a tank company. He then switched to the Jordanian Air Force, flying Cobra attack helicopters and ended his military career as Brigadier General and head of the Jordanian Joint Special Operations Command in 1998. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .