LONDON – Prince William will learn to pilot helicopters and fly fixed-wing aircraft as part of his military training next year, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.
The 25-year-old prince, the second in line to the British throne, will spend four months with the Royal Air Force starting in January 2008, the palace said. William will then spend his summer with the Royal Navy, where he will familiarize himself with the navy's submarines, surface ships, and its Fleet Air Arm.
William's temporary assignments follow a year of training as a specialist armored reconnaissance troop leader in the Blues and Royals, where his younger brother, Prince Harry, also serves.
The brothers were both commissioned as officers after training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.
Harry was to be sent to Iraq, but in May military chiefs ruled that the publicity surrounding Harry's deployment could put his unit at a higher risk, and he was not deployed.
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