The King of the Netherlands had a secret job for 21 years

Cape Town – King Willem-Alexander, the King of the Netherlands, has revealed he has secretly been a commercial pilot for over 20 years.

The revelation came in an interview with Dutch newspaper, De Telegraaf.

According to E! News King Willem told the newspaper: “I find flying simply fantastic. You can't take your problems with you off the ground. You can completely switch off for a while and focus on something else. That, for me, is the most relaxing part of flying.”

King Willem has been working as a KLM Airlines co-pilot on commercial flights since 1996 and has managed to do it almost completely unnoticed.

E! reports very few passengers have noticed him and those who have, recognised his voice via the telecom.

And in case you’re wondering why the royal has decided to reveal his secret hobby/second profession, it’s simply because he is set to undergo training to fly a Boeing 737 – the aircraft that is said to be replacing the current models used by the airline.

Of his upcoming training, Kim Willem told De Telegraaf: “It also seemed nice to fly to other destinations one day, with more passengers and bigger distances. That was the real motive for training on the 737.”