Crowthorne and Sandhurst

Clarence House has announced that Prince William will begin training to become an Army officer at Sandhurst on January 8.

The 23-year-old second in line to the throne is following younger brother Prince Harry into the elite Sandhurst military academy. The Prince of Wales is expected to travel to the site in Camberley, Surrey, to bid farewell to William on his first day. The future King is the most senior royal in recent history to train at the prestigious Sandhurst college. William will be expected to bring his own ironing board with him when he arrives at the site, ready to prepare his uniforms on a daily basis. The Prince already has his sturdy black boots which he will be expected to wear in over the Christmas period. Harry's regulation footwear caused him painful blisters during one of the gruelling expeditions. William is reported to have flown home in a RAF Hawk fighter jet from north Wales last week to collect his new pair.

The Prince and his younger brother will overlap for three months at Sandhurst. Harry is due to finish in April. They will be based in different parts of the college - William with new Sandhurst recruits in Old College and Harry in New College, where cadets are taught in the second and third term. William will endure a tough breaking-in period designed to change him from a civilian into a soldier. In the first five Sandhurst weeks of the 44-week course, new recruits are totally immersed in Army life. They rise at dawn, finish late, are not allowed off-site and have very little free time. William recently joined a mountain rescue team on work experience which was aimed making sure he was fit enough for life in the forces.

He is maintaining a lengthy tradition of military service within the royal family. The Prince has insisted he wants to fight for his country, but whether this will be permitted for a future monarch is not yet clear. Heir to the throne Charles trained to be a pilot with the RAF, getting his wings in 1971, and also signed up for the Royal Navy. William's grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, began his naval career in 1939. The Duke of York was in the Navy for 22 years and served in the Falklands conflict. Most of the 800 recruits accepted at the Sandhurst college each year are graduates like William, who left St Andrews university in the summer with a 2:1.

Sandhurst has three intakes each year - January, May and September.

Today, Harry marched with a rifle in the Sovereign's Parade at the Sandhurst college.

Channel4 News ~ 16 Dec 2005