Prince William to join brother's army regiment

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

LONDON, Sep 21 (Reuters) Prince William will join the Household Cavalry, his younger brother Harry's regiment, if he successfully completes his officer training, a statement from his father's office said today.

William, 24, second in line to the throne, will join Prince Harry in the Blues and Royals unit once he has finished his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

''He based his decision on the variety of roles which the regiment undertakes, from reconnaissance support to airborne forces, right through to ceremonial duties,'' the statement from Clarence House added.

''The Prince was also attracted by the regiment's outstanding record in recent decades, most notably during the Falklands Conflict, the 1991 Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, Iraq and in Northern Ireland.'' Harry, 22, is a Second Lieutenant in the regiment having graduated from the same elite training academy in April.

He has joked in the past that, as he would initially be senior to William, he was looking to having his elder brother having to salute him.

William's time in the army will be divided between training to become a fully qualified armoured reconnaissance troop leader and gaining experience leading 12 soldiers in barracks and in the field, the statement said.

In addition to his military activities, he will also devote more time at the end of his service towards carrying out public engagements.

William, who has the prospect of eventually becoming Commander in Chief of Britain's armed forces in the role traditionally occupied by the monarch, said before he joined the army that he expected to go wherever his men were sent.

His brother has made the same comments, but the Ministry of Defence has already said Harry might be shielded if his unit were sent to war and the prince became a specific target.

Currently troops from the Household Cavalry are serving with British forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan where fighting has been intense.

There is a tradition of British royals serving in the armed forces. William's uncle, the Duke of York, flew a helicopter in the Falklands War in 1982 and his great-grandfather King George VI saw action in World War One.

REUTERS PB PM2139

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