Prince William is embarking on an army career after being admitted to Britain’s premier military academy where his younger brother is already training, royal officials said on Friday.
The dashing 23-year-old son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana was “absolutely delighted” to learn that he can go to Sandhurst academy, which will see him join a long line of royals who have served in the armed forces.
William, second in line to the throne held by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, will be entering the world-famous academy in Camberley, southeast England, having passed a tough four-day admission course.
He is expected to begin training next January, following in the footsteps of his younger brother Prince Harry (21) who is due to finish his Sandhurst stint next April.
“I am absolutely delighted to have got over the first hurdle, but I am only too well aware, having spoken so much to Harry, that this is just the beginning,” said William in a statement.
“I am really looking forward to taking my place alongside all the other cadets at Sandhurst.”
In the first five weeks of a notoriously challenging 44-week training course, William and his fellow cadets will be made to rise at dawn, finish late, are not allowed off-site and have very little free time.
William, who previously studied geography at university in Scotland, has said before that he wants to fight for his country, and his decision came as no surprise to royal watchers.
“He is going to be king, he is going to be commander in chief and as a result he is going to need some sort of army training, so not a surprise but good news I think from his point of view,” royal expert Dickie Arbiter said.
Asked by if he thought William had the mental and physical strength to make the grade, Arbiter told the BBC: “Oh yes.”
“On the exterior he looks as though he might not be able to hack it, but he did do cadet training at Eton [college]. He was very good at that… He certainly will be able to do it.”
Despite conforming to the royal family’s tradition of military service, William and Harry’s decision to join the army marks a break from most of their close relatives.
Their father trained to be a pilot with the Royal Air Force before switching to the Royal Navy, while their grandfather Prince Philip was a naval officer on active duty in World War II.
Their uncle Prince Andrew was a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the Falklands War with Argentina in 1982.
While the brothers’ training will overlap, they will be based in different parts of Sandhurst — William with new recruits in Old College and Harry in New College, where officer cadets are taught in the second and third term.
A spokesperson for Clarence House, the official London residence of Prince Charles and his sons, said Charles and Harry were “absolutely thrilled for him. His father’s very proud.”
William had to pass the so-called Regular Commissions Board to enter Sandhurst, comprising physical tests, an assault course, a planning exercise and interviews. The average pass rate is around 60%. – AFP