This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6181761.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
William graduating from Sandhurst | William graduating from Sandhurst |
(about 6 hours later) | |
Prince William is to be commissioned as an officer into the British Army as he graduates from Sandhurst. | |
The prince, who has been described by fellow trainee officers as "a normal guy", will become a 2nd Lieutenant. | |
His girlfriend Kate Middleton is expected to watch the 24-year-old future King on the parade ground. | |
The ceremony comes the day after the official investigation into the death of his mother, Princess Diana, concluded she died in an accident. | The ceremony comes the day after the official investigation into the death of his mother, Princess Diana, concluded she died in an accident. |
Prince William and Prince Harry welcomed the "conclusive findings" of Thursday's report by Lord Stevens and called for speculation surrounding their mother's death to come to an end. | |
'Lobbing potatoes' | |
The Sandhurst ceremony will involve up to 465 cadets, including 78 women, with more than 220 officer cadets such as the prince passing out and receiving their commissions. | |
At the traditional passing out ceremony, the Queen will take the Sovereign's Parade and give a speech. | |
The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and William's stepmother the Duchess of Cornwall are also expected to attend. | |
He's just a normal guy that gets stuck in like everybody else Junior Under Officer Angela Laycock | |
This will be the first occasion that Ms Middleton has been at a high-profile public event as Prince William's guest that is also attended by the Queen and other senior royals. | |
Junior Under Officer Angela Laycock, who is in the prince's Blenheim Platoon, said the prince was not regarded any differently by his fellow cadets. | |
She said: "He's just a normal guy that gets stuck in like everybody else." | |
Miss Laycock, 24, said the only difference was that "sometimes we'll see his name in the paper and you didn't notice he'd been off that evening doing a charity do." | |
On riot training he had been "grabbing potatoes and lobbing them at the force protection people just like the rest of us", she added. | |
'Hard work' | |
Major General Peter Pearson, Commandant of Sandhurst, said the prince had undergone the same gruelling regime as other trainee officers. | |
Becoming an officer "takes a lot of hard work" he said. | |
The prince, second in line to the throne, has chosen to join the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals alongside his brother Prince Harry, who graduated from Sandhurst earlier this year. | The prince, second in line to the throne, has chosen to join the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals alongside his brother Prince Harry, who graduated from Sandhurst earlier this year. |
The Prince has expressed a wish to serve in combat | |
Both princes have indicated they are prepared to fight in zones of conflict, but it is not likely a future monarch would be allowed to see front-line action. | |
Major Pearson said it was "perfectly understandable" that they would want to "go where their soldiers go". | |
But he added: "It's a tricky decision that, thankfully, I don't have to make but I can perfectly understand why both of them want to serve with their soldiers." | |
Footage of the prince on exercise and handling a practice hostage situation has been released to coincide with the ceremony. | |
The prince is shown aiming his SA80 rifle with yellow safety cap at a "hostage taker" and shouting: "Put the weapon down". | |
More training | |
The prince will now spend four months at Bovington Camp in Dorset, training to become a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit. | |
Cornet Wales, as he will be known, will start a troop leaders course, which Prince Harry has already completed. | |
Prince William will be in charge of around a dozen soldiers who are equipped with four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles. | |
The "recce" unit is used to find out where the enemy is and how to get through the terrain ahead. | |
The regiment has seen operational duty with the United Nations and Nato in Bosnia and Kosovo. | |
Unlike Prince Harry who will continue as a "career soldier", Prince William will go on to spend time with both the RAF and the Royal Navy on familiarisation attachments to prepare him for his future role. | |
He will increasingly carry out public engagements in parallel to his military career. |