Newly-wed prince set to take off for Falklands search and rescue missions

The Duke of Cambridge will fly search and rescue helicopter missions in the Falkland Islands next spring, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

Prince William, a flight lieutenant with the RAF, will be posted to the remote outcrop in the South Atlantic for six weeks from February to March.

His deployment was announced in the summer but it has taken until now to work out when he could serve on the British overseas territory.

The 30th anniversary of the Falklands War will be commemorated next year and the prince’s arrival may inflame relations between the British and Argentine governments.

President Cristina Kirchner accused David Cameron in the summer of “mediocrity bordering on stupidity” when the Prime Minister said the islands should remain a British territory, if that was the wish of their inhabitants. Ms Kirchner has insisted Argentina and Britain should negotiate over the South Atlantic islands, over which the two countries fought a ten-week war in 1982.

Prince William’s uncle, the Duke of York, served during the Falklands conflict as a Sea King helicopter pilot.

Based at RAF Valley in Anglesey, north Wales, Prince William qualified as an RAF search and rescue force helicopter co-pilot last September.