Shakes here... Britain’s Prince William is here... Britain's Prince William is beginning his military training at Sandhurst Academy.
William, 23, the eldest son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, becomes one of the 270 recruits taking the 44-week course. Charles traveled to the academy to accompany William on his first day.
The future king was required to bring his own ironing board as well as heavy black military boots…
William, who graduated from Scotland's St. Andrews University in June, will be the most senior royal in recent memory to attend the academy — opting for the army rather than the navy.
Charles trained to be a pilot with the Royal Air Force as well as serving in the Navy.
William follows his younger brother, Prince Harry, who enrolled at the academy in May.
Just the other day, Mr. Shakes and I were talking about the British Royal Family, of whom, being a Scotsman, he's no great fan in a historical sense. But he has a deep respect for the modern Windsors, who carry on the admirable aristocratic tradition of serving their country—in the military and other ways—in exchange for the privilege the country affords them. Princes William and Harry have the same chance of serving in Iraq as do any other officers; their uncle, Prince Andrew, served in the Falklands War. When the British government wanted to relocate him to a desk job from the HMS Invincible, one of only two operational aircraft carriers available to the Royal Navy, it was the Queen herself who insisted that Prince Andrew be allowed to remain with his ship. After the war, the Queen and Prince Philip joined other families of the other crew to welcome the vessel home, just a mother and father like any other, glad their son was safe. During WWII, that same mother and father refused to leave their London home when London was bombed, standing in solidarity with the people who had no option but to stay.
