Prince William Invites RAF Crew Members to Royal Wedding

LONDON, April 14, 2011— -- All 27 crew members at Royal Air Force Valley in Anglesey, where Prince Will works as a search-and-rescue pilot, have been invited to the royal wedding.

''I didn't expect it," said Flight Cmd. Iain ''Spike'' Wright, William's line manager. "It's a great honor."

Wright said he was "dumbfounded'' when he realized he had been invited. "Then I relaxed and thought, 'This is actually going to be quite good fun,''' he said.

The excitement will be spreading throughout households; all the crew members were invited along with their partners.

''First of all, I couldn't believe it," Flight Lt. Thomas ''Sticky'' Bunn said.

"My wife certainly couldn't. When that envelope drops through the door with a Buckingham Palace stamp on it, it's not something you see every day.''

Bunn spoke a bit about the prince's role, joking that he had been on three jobs with William and ''it always seemed to be bad weather."

Luckily, Will can pull out a few royal stories to keep the morale up: ''He's always got a fascinating story to tell us," Wright said. ''He is a natural. He just seems to be able to cope with everything we throw at him.

"The only thing that worries me is the fact that he supports Aston Villa,'' a soccer club.

The prince's line manager said William is like any other pilot; he even had to submit paperwork to get time off for his honeymoon.

Search-and-rescue teams from other areas of the U.K. will stand in to cover shifts while Will's crew members have three days off for the wedding.