On This Day: Prince William of Gloucester dies at 30 after crashing his plane

AUGUST 28, 1972: Prince William of Gloucester died aged 30 after crashing his plane during an air race on this day in 1972.

The Queen’s cousin, whom the current Duke of Cambridge was named after, was killed instantly along with co-pilot Vyrell Mitchell at Halfpenny Green, Staffordshire.

Their Piper Cherokee single-engine aircraft burst into flames after banking suddenly in midair and plunging into a tree before flipping over and crashing into the ground.

The death of the dashing, daring and popular young prince, who like his namesake also enjoyed playing polo, deeply shocked the British public and the Royal Family.

But the person most affected by the loss is said to have been his first cousin once removed, Prince Charles.

The heir to the throne modelled himself on William, who with his brains, brawn, good looks and cool persona was easily the most dazzling royal of his generation.

Charles, who was 23 years old at the time of the tragedy, had taken up the sport of polo and studied at Cambridge University in a bid to follow his footsteps.

The young Prince of Wales is even said to have been inspired by William’s desire for married women, which led to similarly disastrous consequences in his own life.

Notably, William, who was King George V’s grandson, allegedly had a relationship with glamorous American divorcee Zsuzsi Starkloff sabotaged by the Queen.

The Palace branded her the ‘new Mrs Simpson’ after the twice-married U.S. socialite whose marriage to King Edward VII forced the 1936 abdication crisis that very nearly destroyed the British monarchy, according to a 2012 Daily Mail article.

Charles, whose affairs are well publicised, remained so enamoured by his colourful cousin that, ten years after his death, he named his first-born son after him.

[On This Day: Britain's last Prince George dies in wartime plane crash]

And the similarities between the two Williams – except in apparent faithfulness and thickness hair – are striking.

Both are comparably easy on the eye – though Gloucester was more hirsute – and each are Eton-educated, Polo-playing pilots and dare devils.

The weight of responsibility of being a royal has also at times seemed unbearable for both men.

The older William, who at the time of his birth was fourth in line to the throne, faced a similar glare of publicity in early age.

An example of this being a British Pathé newsreel that filmed him as a five-year-old playing with his three-year-old brother Richard.

He also tried to stand apart from the Windsors – as the younger William has done by refusing to marry royalty like his forebears and acting more like an ordinary citizen.

[On This Day: Prince Charles is christened]

For the older William, of course, eschewing tradition was much easier since there was less was expected of him because he was much further from the throne.

Yet, he certainly opened the path for his namesake by blazing a trail.

He was the first member of the Royal Family to gain a university place through open competition – something the Duke of Cambridge also did decades later.

After having worked hard for his history degree – despite conceding to his tutor ‘We’re not a very bookish family’ – he refused a career in the armed forces.

Neither Charles nor his son have shunned this duty – or ‘easy way out’ as the elder William put it – although Edward dropped out of the Royal Marines during training.

Gloucester was very adventurous; having once crossed Africa in two Land Rovers while accompanied by six student friends.

Princes William and Harry echoed this expedition 45 years later with their 1,000-mile road trip across the same continent in 2008.

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And, in a bid to avoid being ‘treated as a mascot’, the older William became a diplomat in 1965 and was posted first to Nigeria and later Japan.

However, in 1970, Prince William was diagnosed as suffering from porphyria, which has been described as a ‘royal disease’, and so resigned and returned to Britain.

The illness, however, did not stop him seeking adventure and it was this lust for life that would ultimately lead to his tragic death.