RAF jet used to transport royals in near-miss with illegal drone (Image: RAF)

       An RAF jet used by members of the Royal Family had a brush with an illegal drone, a report has said.

       Flight tracker records show a twin-engine RAF Envoy IV jet from the force's No.32 (the Royal) Squadron nearly clashed with the drone as it prepared to land at Bristol airport following a trip from Edinburgh.

       As it came in to land and dropped to 9,700ft, records show the aircraft - a private jet-styled plane built to seat up to 14 passengers - came within 30ft of the flying object.

       The Daily Mail reported that the drone was flying roughly 24 times the 400ft maximum legal altitude limit imposed by the Government.

       Experts have classed the near-collision as a Category A incident, warning that the object came dangerously close to striking the aircraft, and it is currently unclear as to whether any members of the Royal Family were aboard.

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       The jet had taken Prince William and Princess Kate to Jordan earlier this year (Image: BBC)

       Buckingham Palace has refused to confirm whether any royals were on the plane during the near crash and said it could not comment on the identities of any of the plane's passengers.

       Fight data compiled in a report by the UK Airprox Board indicates the near-miss happened just after 7pm on Wednesday, June 21.

       Records from the Court Circular, which indicates when and where royals are participating in duties, show that no members of the family had engagements in Bristol or Edinburgh on the day.

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       Some engagements are kept under wraps, however, and may be absent from the record.

       Airprox labelled the incident as a Category A, indicating a "serious risk of collision" from the illegally flown device.

       Brushes like this aren't unheard of, with drone enthusiasts keen to test the limits of their machines.

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       Some pilots pack the devices with batteries to allow them to reach dizzying heights and install software to override limits imposed by manufacturers to record dramatic videos of planes.

       The report from Airprox concluded that the drone, in this case, was a silver/white coloured "quadcopter type" with "red flashes".

       An RAF spokesman told the Mail that drones "operating in the vicinity of our aircraft" can offer "significant" threats to the planes and prove "challenging" for crews to spot and take evasive action.

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