This is what happens when you fly commercial, dahling.
Prince William and Kate Middleton had to endure a 10-hour flight from Los Angeles to London without any movies after a technical glitch wiped out the entertainment system in the First Class and Business cabins. As their counterparts in coach watched Gnomeo and Juliet and The Tourist, the royal couple had to pass the time by sipping champagne and napping in their fold-down beds.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly paid £5,000 ($8,100) a piece for their seats, which is still far cheaper than the (taxpayer-footed) bill for flying private.
(PHOTOS: Kate and William Tour North America)
“Unfortunately a fault with some parts of the aircraft’s in-flight entertainment system couldn’t be fixed before the aircraft took off from Los Angeles,” British Airways said in a statement. “We apologize to everyone affected and have offered customers either a voucher or frequent flyer miles to say sorry.”
William and Kate received duty-free vouchers amounting to $323 as compensation. That means they can purchase Vivienne Westwood’s fragrance “Naughty Alice” ($52) and a 200 carton of Marlboro Gold KSF Cigarettes ($68)—and still have extra change to pick up something nice for the Queen. (via the Sydney Morning Herald)
William Lee Adams is a writer-reporter at TIME’s London bureau. Find him on Twitter at @willyleeadams. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.