Prince William training in Cyprus in 2006

© Ministry of Defence

PRINCE WILLIAM: MILITARY CAREER

Prince William is a Second Lieutenant, or Cornet, in the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals).

Prince William graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, known as passing out, on 15 December 2006.  He took part in the Sovereign's Parade which was presided over by his grandmother The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh.  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall also attended.

He was commissioned after completing a 44-week training course at Sandhurst which is in Camberley, Surrey. During his training, William was known as Officer Cadet Wales.

To gain entry to Sandhurst, Prince William had to pass his Regular Commissions Board (RCB) which he did in October 2005.

The RCB enables senior Army assessors to find those best suited for training. The Board is demanding, and consists of a number of tests and tasks designed to assess mental, physical and emotional aptitude.

As second in line to The Throne, Prince William has also represented The Queen at official military occasions. During his visit to New Zealand, Prince William attended events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. He laid a wreath at the cenotaph in Auckland on behalf of The Queen, met both veterans and serving soldiers and inspected a guard of honour.

Prince William also attends ceremonial occasions such as the Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in November.

Regiments
In August 2006, The Queen appointed new Royal Commodores of various Royal Navy Commands in recognition of the strong links between the Royal Navy and the Royal Family. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Scotland and Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines.