William and Kate's plane was forced to abort landing twice following thunderstorms

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Prince William and Kate Middleton have been enjoying their five-day royal tour of Pakistan. So far they have visited a melting glacier in the Hindu Kush mountain range, travelled to a reception hosted by the British High Commissioner in a tuk tuk, and Kate has been channelling the late Princess Diana.

However there was 'mid-air drama' for the couple and their entourage - which includes key members of their team as well as around forty travelling journalists - and their plane failed to land in Islamabad twice yesterday, forcing them to turn back to Lahore.

The journey, which should have taken just 26 minutes, was forced to return after a severe thunderstorm.

According to Daily Mail's royal correspondent, Rebecca English, it was the worst turbulence many of the passengers had ever experienced.

She tweeted: 'A mid-air drama for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - and the entire press pack - as storms force our RAF Voyager to twice abandon landing in Islamabad and return to #Lahore.

'The pilot circled for an hour but the lightening - and turbulence - was so bad we had to fly back.'

She continued: 'The pilot tried to land twice, at two different airports, amid horrendous lightening and turbulence, but was forced to return Lahore for safety reasons.'

Unsure of when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could return to Islamabad, Rebecca then wrote: 'At the moment we have no idea if and when we will be able to return.

'Few of us have experienced turbulence as bad as that - and it’s fair to say there were are a few [sick] faces on the flight......'

According to the journalists onboard, William went to the back of the plane to check that they were all okay, joking that he had been flying the plane.

Luckily, everybody on board was safe and Rebecca has since updated royal fans, confirming that the royals were able to return and continue with their scheduled visits.

'The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have finally landed in Islamabad after yesterday’s mid-air drama. We can now reveal William and Kate had to spend the night in a Lahore hotel following yesterday’s aborted landing due to a severe storm,' she has since tweeted.

We're glad to hear that everybody on board is safe after what sounds like a pretty scary experience.

Jadie Troy-Pryde
News Editor

Jadie Troy-Pryde is News Editor, covering celebrity and entertainment, royal, lifestyle and viral news. Before joining the team in 2018 as the Lifestyle and Social Media Editor, she worked at a number of women’s fashion and lifestyle titles including Grazia, Women’s Health and Stylist, and now heads the Marie Claire UK news desk.