Heir force one! King Charles shares rare glimpse onboard luxurious government private jet - which costs £2,000 per hour to run

King Charles has offered a rare glimpse into the private plane he is using for his royal tour of the Caribbean - fitted with tartan cushions and rather plush seats. The Monarch, 77, landed in Nassau, the Bahamas, on October 27 to begin his nine-day trip across the region that will see him travel to the Bahamas, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.Taking to Instagram, the Royal Family shared a rare glimpse into Charles' luxurious mode of travel for the tour - with the King photographed reading 'briefing papers' on board the glamorous flight. Looking dapper in a pink shirt and tie, Charles was photographed sat on a dark grey seat while engrossed in his catalogue of papers. The image, shared on the Royal Family's Instagram page, was captioned: 'Looking forward to joining the people of the Bahamas... 'When travelling, The King likes to spend time reading briefing papers, continuing with his Government red box duties, reading and writing correspondence, and discussing projects with his support team.'Another photograph shared on the Royal Family's official page showed the pilots sat with Geoffrey the Giraffe, whose travels have helped to raise funds for Great Ormond Street.The new images offer a rarely-seen insight into life onboard the Royal Air Force VIP Voyager, known as Vespina - which has been the official primary transport plane for the Royal Family, Prime Minister and UK Government ministers since 2016. And the aircraft is certainly stylish - with grey and cream seats, privacy curtains and a tartan cushion in what is perhaps a nod to the monarch's fondness for Scotland. King Charles has offered a rare glimpse into the private plane he is using for his royal tour of the Caribbean - fitted with tartan cushions and rather plush seats The new images offer a rarely-seen insight into life onboard the Royal Air Force VIP Voyager, known as Vespina - which has been the official primary transport plane for the Royal Family, Prime Minister and UK Government ministers since 2016. Another photograph shared on the Royal Family's official page showed the pilots sat with Geoffrey the Giraffe, whose travels have helped to raise funds for Great Ormond Street. Source: Instagram / The Royal Family According to previous reports, the plane costs up to £2,000 to run per hour, bringing the total cost of his nine-hour flight on Tuesday to £18,000, and is fitted with 58 business-class seats and 100 standard premium economy seats for the royal staff. The spacious converted RAF Voyager, which is fondly nicknamed 'Cam Force One', came into use in 2016 and is operated by the Royal Air Force. It is also used for long-haul flights by senior government officials. However, this is not the first time royal fans have been given a rare glimpse into the King and Queen's upmarket modes of travel.In April, the Royal Family shared heartwarming footage of Queen Camilla onboard Their Majesties' flight as they travelled from Buckingham Palace all the way to New York City.Video footage captured Camilla transporting Roo, a replica of a missing toy that belonged to Christopher Robin Milne, son of AA Milne who wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh children's book series, to the US as part of her and King Charles's state visit.The original toy went missing in an English orchard in the 1930s. However, the Queen, 79, has finally returned Roo to its rightful owners ahead of Winnie-the-Pooh's 100th anniversary.Greeted at the royal residence with a red carpet, Roo was carried up a staircase from a red carpet, even getting a luxury view sat on the shoulder of the royal pilot.Ensuring the replica was in safe hands, Camilla was captured playfully reading the toy a book, while she later ensured to place Roo in her black Lady Dior handbag.Since arriving in the Caribbean on Tuesday, the King has fully immersed himself into the carnival spirit. The aircraft is certainly stylish - with grey and cream seats, privacy curtains and a tartan cushion in what is perhaps a nod to the monarch's fondness for Scotland The Monarch, 77, landed in Nassau, the Bahamas, on October 27 to begin his nine-day trip across the region that will see him travel to the Bahamas, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting This is not the first time royal fans have been given a rare glimpse into the King and Queen's upmarket modes of travel. In April, the Royal Family shared heartwarming footage of Queen Camilla onboard Their Majesties' flight as they travelled from Buckingham Palace to New YorkOn Wednesday, Charles' first full day of engagements, the monarch put the bubbling issue of slavery and reparations firmly to one side as he watched a 'Junkanoo' parade, a boisterous mass of energetic dancers wearing lavish and brightly-coloured costumes who took over Nassau's main thoroughfare.While His Majesty had been expected to just view the spectacle as guest of honour alongside the country's Prime Minister, Philip Davis, such was the infectious nature of the performance that Charles couldn't resist joining in.First he started tapping his feet then, handed the musical instruments, began moving to the beat before suddenly - with what looked like a cheeky backwards glance towards his police protection officers - heading off, laughing, into the throng.His joy was infectious and certainly belied the fact that at 77 years old, the King is still pursuing a punishing work schedule and undergoing continuing cancer treatment.Charles had earlier been welcomed by the Prime Minister at the House of Assembly on Parliament Square - his second major meet and greet of the tour - and spoke to Bahamian students involved with his King's Foundation building programmes before enjoying the celebratory street parade.David Brown of Brown's Restaurant offered the King local delicacy crab and rice. He said: 'He said he hoped I had enough to go around.'The King then enjoyed an impromptu walkabout, shaking hands with locals who came out to greet him in Parliament Square.Just four reparations protestors had gathered along the parade route, although they were later asked to leave by local police.King Charles' nine-day visit to the Caribbean is at the request of the British government taking in the Bahamas, Guyana and finally Antigua and Barbuda, where he will be joined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). In heartwarming video footage shared by the Royal Family on social media, baby Roo was seen experiencing the VIP treatment onboard Their Majesties' flight - offering an insight into the spacious jet King Charles arrives at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, The Bahamas, on Tuesday as part of an autumn tour of Caribbean nations On Wednesday, Charles' first full day of engagements, the monarch put the bubbling issue of slavery and reparations firmly to one side as he watched a 'Junkanoo' paradeThe trip is, however, being dogged by calls from local campaigners for a formal apology from the British government over the country's role in the historic transatlantic slave trade and reparations.The King, who acts on the advice of his ministers, addressed the thorny issue within hours of landing on Tuesday night saying: 'It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past, in these islands and beyond.'Although he stopped short of offering an apology or financial compensation in line with government policy, aides say His Majesty will 'not shy away' from addressing the growing clamour that threatens to overshadow his visit to the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda this week.A spokesman for the King made clear he would face 'the most shameful aspects of our past'.Whether it will be enough remains to be seen, with the Bahamas National Reparations Committee having already warned him: 'Don't come empty-handed.'Buckingham Palace insists that His Majesty is 'alive' to the local strength of feeling, particularly given his role both as Head of the Commonwealth and as monarch in two of the countries he is visiting, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, where calls for action by the UK have been growing. 'His Majesty will as usual not seek to ignore the past,' an aide said.As a result, he will tackle the 'backdrop of wider discussions on colonial legacy' head-on in a number of his speeches, as well as visiting sites with historic links to slavery.