Can Prince William return to his job as air ambulance pilot?

Prince William is reportedly hoping to return to work as a helicopter pilot for the Air Ambulance service in order to do his bit during the UK’s coronavirus outbreak.

According to Tatler magazine, the Queen’s eldest grandson “hinted” at the idea during a visit to an NHS Call Centre in Croydon earlier this month.

And a source told The Sun this week: “William has been seriously considering returning as an air ambulance pilot to help in the current pandemic. He knows the whole country is doing its bit and he wants to help.”

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The Duke of Cambridge - whose father Prince Charles has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus - flew as a medic for the East Anglian Air Ambulance for two years from 2015.

However, his possible return to the job could prove “complicated as he was originally grounded from the job so that he could become a senior working royal”, said The Sun’s source.

“That role is even more important now given that Charles has been ill, Harry has walked away with Meghan, and Andrew has been effectively barred from public life,” the insider explained. “But William is very keen to do anything he can to help.”

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The 37-year-old royal is currently self-isolating in his Norfolk country retreat Anmer Hall with the Duchess of Cambridge and their three children, Prince George, six, Princess Charlotte, four, and Prince Louis, one.

Anmer Hall was also his base during his original stint as an air ambulance pilot - and another source told Cosmopolitan that being there during the coronavirus outbreak could be convenient if he returns to the job.

“There are all sorts of practicalities to overcome such as fitting in on shift patterns,” the source said. “But he’s in the right place now if he wants to do it.”

When he began the piloting role back in 2015, William felt it would be a “natural progression from his previous job as a search-and-rescue pilot with the Royal Air Force”, The Guardian reported at the time.

His air ambulance pilot duties saw him clocking up 20 hours a week alongside doctors and paramedics as part of a team providing emergency medical cover across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and also Essex and Hertfordshire at night.

William gave up the job in 2017 to take on more royal duties on behalf of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.