Thirty years ago the British Government rejected a request by Prince Philip to join a Concorde test flight because officials felt it could be politically embarrassing.
Correspondence released to the Public Record Office describes how Philip asked in June 1971 for a seat on the flight.
But the Conservative Party Government of
Prime Minister Edward Heath was considering pulling out of plans to build the Anglo-French jet and senior civil servants urged Heath to reject the request.
"In principle I am entirely in favour of this; indeed, I have been hoping to make such a flight myself," Heath wrote to the Prince.
"But any flight by either of us at this stage ... would be likely to give the impression that the British Government were now firmly committed to the project going into production."
