The King of the Netherlands said he has been leading a double life as a co-pilot and has been taking the controls of commercial flights twice a month for the past 21 years.
King Willem-Alexander, an avid aviator, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he finds flying “simply fantastic,” the BBC reports.
While it was known that he was a “guest pilot” on passenger flights before his 2013 coronation in order to maintain his pilot license, it wasn’t publicly known that he was flying incognito while monarch.
Willem-Alexander would ferry passengers on short-haul flights for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, according to the Dutch government. But the carrier’s fleet of Fokker 70 planes, which were flown by the king, is being replaced by Boeing 737s, and Willem-Alexander said he would retrain to co-pilot the new aircraft.
In the interview, the Dutch king said he never revealed who he was to passengers when flying, although some recognized his voice when he gave announcements from the cockpit.
He called flying a hobby in which he could “switch off for a while and focus on something else.”
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com