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| Britain's Prince William,
centre, is greeted by Major General Andrew Ritchie, the Commandant
of Sandhurst, as he arrives with his father, the Prince of Wales,
right, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, southern England, at the start of his Army Officer training Sunday
Jan. 8, 2005. |
Prince William launched his army career on Sunday
when he entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
The second-in-line to the British throne is
following younger brother Prince Harry into the elite academy to train to
become an officer.
William, 23, arrived with his father, Britain's Prince Charles, at the
site in Camberley, southern England, looking a bit apprehensive on the
first day of his one-year training course.
Last October William passed the Regular Commissions Board exams -- a
series of tests and tasks to gauge the ability
of candidates to meet the mental, physical and emotional demands facing
army officers -- to gain entry to the academy.
"I am absolutely delighted to have got over the first hurdle, but I am
only too well aware, having spoken so much to
Harry, that this is just the beginning," he said.
"I am really looking forward to taking my place alongside all the other
cadets at Sandhurst."
William has the prospect of eventually becoming Commander in Chief of
Britain's armed forces -- the role traditionally occupied by the monarch.
The academy's commandant, General Andrew Ritchie, jokingly warned of
tough times ahead.
"They have been used to working for four hours a day and sleeping for
20, and we reverse that," he said.
In 2004, when William announced he was considering joining the army, he
said he would not expect or accept special treatment.
"The last thing I want to be is mollycoddled or wrapped up in cotton
wool," he said. "If I was to join the army, I would want to go where my
men went and I would want to do what they did."
Harry, 21, who entered Sandhurst last year and will therefore initially
be senior to William, has joked that he was looking forward to his elder
brother having to salute him.
(Agencies)
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上周日，威廉王子正式加入號稱"英國西點"的桑德赫斯特皇家軍事學院，從此開始了他的軍事生涯。
繼弟弟哈里王子后，這位英國王室的第二王位繼承人也將在這所"精英院校"接受培訓成為一名軍官。
今年23歲的威廉王子和他的父親查爾斯王儲一同來到這所位于英國南部坎巴利的學校，他將在這里接受一年的培訓，在入學的第一天，他顯得有點不安和擔憂。
去年10月，威廉通過正規軍服役委員會的考試后，被桑德赫斯特皇家軍事學院錄取。此項考試包括一系列的測試和任務，旨在評估應試者在智力、生理和情感上是否符合軍官的要求。
威廉王子說，"我很高興自己闖過了第一關，但是通過與弟弟哈里多次交談后，我也非常清楚入學只是考驗的開始。"
"我真的很期待和桑德赫斯特的其他同學一起'并肩戰斗'。"
威廉有望成為英國的三軍總司令，這個職位長期以來都是由君主執掌的。
軍校司令安德魯·里奇將軍打趣說，苦日子還在后面呢。
他說："他們都習慣了一天工作4個小時，睡20個小時的日子。而我們將把這顛倒過來。"
2004年，威廉王子宣布考慮參軍時就說過他不期待也不會接受特殊待遇。
他說，"我最不想變成一個嬌生慣養的人，像溫室里的花朵一樣。如果我要參軍，我會和其他士兵們同甘共苦，并肩戰斗。"
21歲的哈里王子去年考入桑德赫斯特軍校，所以他事實上是威廉王子的學長，他開玩笑說，他期待著哥哥向他敬禮。
(中國日報網站編譯) |
Updated: 2006-01-10 09:12
