Prince takes to high seas to sniff out drug runners

Published on Saturday 31 May 2008 19:59

PRINCE William is to join Royal Navy patrols searching for drug runners crossing Caribbean waters during an eight-week attachment with the senior service.

He will be assigned tomorrow to HMS Iron Duke.

British vessels have seized around 20 tonnes of cocaine in the North Atlantic in the past 18 months.

But the 25-year-old heir to the throne is unlikely to be put in the firing line.

Rear Admiral Robert Cooling, the assistant chief of Naval Staff, said that if he put himself in the shoes of the Iron Duke's commander, William would not join a boarding party if there was a chance he could be shot at.

"If it's an entirely permissive boarding and we're searching for drugs, for example, or indeed we're validating the flag state of a vessel of interest, then by all means, no difficulties there," said Cooling.

The prince is said to be looking forward to the secondment to the frigate, which is aimed at teaching him about the navy's ethos and capabilities as he prepares for his future role as head of the armed forces.

The attachment would be rigorous and challenging, said Cooling.

"It will be a real thrill and privilege – not a pain in the ass – for the ship's company," he joked. "If we treated him like some super VIP and tailored a programme for him and walked around on egg shells, then that would be difficult.

"But he's not – he's going to come just like any other young officer and do all the things that young officers get involved in."

Pictures showing a smiling Sub-Lieutenant Wales, in a dark double-breasted naval uniform with peaked cap, were released yesterday.

William is following in the footsteps of his father, the Prince of Wales, uncle the Duke of York, and grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who all served in the Royal Navy.

Commander William Entwisle, a former equerry to Charles, said: "I went to visit him with the First Sea Lord (Admiral Sir Jonathon Band] about three weeks ago and he's enormously looking forward to the attachment."

The prince – an officer in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals – will spend a few weeks learning navigation, boat handling and safety. He will briefly visit the Royal Marines and Air Fleet Arm, where he will have a chance to fly its helicopters.

He will then spend five weeks on the Iron Duke, the current North Atlantic patrol ship, providing security for UK territories in the West Indies. Cooling said the frigate was chosen after "operational security considerations", but mainly because it offered the prince the "best grounding" in naval activities. Other warships in the Gulf were in "stand down" or transit.

"I'm fairly confident he will do just fine in that environment. There's nothing to be shy about if you get seasick; the best of us did – Nelson got seasick."

Prince Harry, 23, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, will spend the summer on aid operations in Africa.