Fleming and Merrill favourties to host Wills

BLUE-BLOODED JP Morgan Cazenove and Wall Street's rapacious Merrill Lynch have emerged as front-runners to play host to Prince William during his autumn stint in the City.

Clarence House set off a frenzy of Square Mile speculation after the Prince's graduation last week when it declared that he would undertake a work placement with 'a financial institution in London, gaining an insight into international finance and commerce'.

Bookmakers were quick to begin offering odds on the candidates, with a host of big-hitting names put on the table.

Despite its distinctly un-British reputation, the so-called Thundering Herd of Merrill Lynch moved quickly up the speculation tables due to its strong support of the Prince's Trust, founded by Prince Charles.

The Merrill possibility gains a fillip from the presence among its ranks of the Prince William's friend Edward van Cutsem, although some reports claim relations are still frosty between van Cutsem and his godfather Prince Charles. Charles deliberately snubbed van Cutsem's wedding last year because of a perceived slight to his now-wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, in the seating plan.

JP Morgan Cazenove is seen as another hot favourite, given its status as the Queen's broker and obvious personal links with the royals.

'Cazenove is obsessed with contacts, contacts, contacts. They would love to get the Prince on board,' said one banker.

Contacts seem to be something the Prince is also keen on developing. He has said the time in the City 'may well help me with charity fund-raising in the future'.

Meanwhile, another family friend, the Queen's former Private Secretary Robert Fellowes, was seen as a possible draw for the Prince to join Barclays. Fellowes is chairman of Barclays Private Banking but would carry some weight in winning Wills over to the Barclays Capital camp, where he could get some of that international commerce experience he craves.

Whichever firm he ends up with, bankers expect the Prince to be offered a brief grounding in London's fixed income markets, equities and mergers and acquisitions, to give him an idea of what the City is all about.

His time there will be short - about a month - before he heads off to learn about land management and the mountain rescue services. But most in the City welcomed what should give him some insight into their previously unknown world.