Shipwrecks happen fairly frequently, and rescues at sea, while heroic, typically don't make global headlines. Unless one of the people doing the rescuing happens to be royalty, that is.

On Sunday, Flight Lt. William Wales of the Royal Air Force -- you may know him better as the Duke of Cambridge or, even more commonly, Prince William -- was part of a helicopter crew that plucked two Russian sailors from the Irish Sea when their tanker sank. In fact, it was William who co-piloted the RAF chopper itself.

And while the 19 months he spent training as a search-and-rescue pilot meant this was real-life and not a calculated PR stunt, there's no denying that it puts a new shine on a royal apple that has in recent years been marred by scandal and royal wedding fatigue.

Watch the intense rescue footage below and see if you agree that William's formal attire should include a superhero cape as well as a crown.

[via Sky News]

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