A former air cabin crew member who looked after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a flight to Australia is now looking to hit new heights after joining Nottinghamshire Police.

Ex-Qantas flight attendant Nick Kendall-Edwards is one of 16 new recruits training to be emergency call handlers in the Nottinghamshire Police control room and front counter enquiry officers.

Nick, of Kirkby, is no stranger to high-pressure situations in his previous roles.

As well as looking after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their flight, to begin their tour of Australia in 2018, Nick also met the Queen during his time working as a customer services supervisor for the Oasis Holiday Village near Penrith, Cumbria, in 1998.

“The Queen is just lovely. When she got to me she asked ‘is this where one meets all of the customers? I said ‘yes Ma’am!’,” he recalled.

“I only found out the night before that I’d be looking after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the Qantas flight.

“I was told I could only speak to them if they spoke to you. They’re just normal people and they asked how I was and how my day was going.”

Nick, who has always worked in customer service roles, was on furlough after Covid-19 hit and considering his next challenge when the opportunity arose to apply to join Nottinghamshire Police as a call handler.

He added: “The training has been great and has really flown by. It has covered everything and we’ve all learned so much already from the experience and knowledge passed on by our mentors.

“They have told us how it’s going to be and shared real-life stories, which has been invaluable to our learning.

“I can’t wait to get started in the control room. I just want to help people and it feels great to be working for a police force, which recognises diversity and which is committed to its PROUD values.”

The PROUD values are: Professional/Respect for all/One team/Utmost integrity, trust and honesty/Doing it differently.

Supt Suk Verma, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are proud to be a diverse force and it’s great to have such a mixture of people joining our organisation from such a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences.

“The new recruits are all passionate about making a difference to the communities we serve.

“I wish them all every success as they begin their careers with the force, applying their previous experience to their new roles, and I’m sure they will rise to the challenges ahead in order to help people.”