30/04/2008

Secret Afghanistan Flight For Prince William

The eldest Prince has made a secret trip to Afghanistan to view RAF operations.

William, 25, met British service personnel at Kandahar airfield on Monday for three hours before returning to the UK via Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The Prince left RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, on Sunday flying a C-17 Globemaster plane which reached Afghanistan the next day.

The Queen and Prince Charles had given permission for the visit.

His father recently awarded William his RAF wings earlier this month.

A Clarence House spokesman said that the purpose of the trip was "for the prince to familiarise himself with the operations of the RAF in theatre" and that the trip had passed off "without a hitch".

Publicist Max Clifford has reportedly said that the trip was "a good public relations exercise".

Some media spectators say that the trip was used to generate positive headlines following the controversy of the Prince flying a helicopter to his girlfriend Kate Middleton's back garden.

The Prince's younger brother, Harry, who was serving in the frontline in Afghanistan earlier this year was pulled out after a media blackout was broken. It was feared that the Prince would become a prime target for the Taleban.

Prince William - who is second in line to the throne - will start with the Royal Navy in June after four months of training with the RAF.

(DS)


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