No special treatment for Harry

Prince Harry was today warned not to expect any privileges when he starts his Army training at Sandhurst.

He will be known as Mr Wales and will be under the command of tough sergeant-majors as he is put through a basic training programme.

Sandhurst Commandant Major-General Andrew Ritchie spelled out exactly what the 20-year-old prince could expect in January.

He said: "The ethos of Sandhurst is that every single cadet that comes here will be treated the same as everyone else. They will meet some fierce guard sergeants who will maintain that ethos. Everybody has to prove themselves here."

He added: "We are used to people who are used to working four hours a day and sleeping twenty: we aim to reverse that cycle."

Harry will be given five weeks' square-bashing with a no-nonsense sergeant before getting lessons in leadership.

Harry, the most senior modern royal to train as an army officer, will also have to meet tough standards if he is to pass out. He will be one of three royal princes - including one from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan - on the course.

Major Cameron Day, from Sandhurst, said today: "He will get no special treatment. The commanding officer has made that quite clear. We're used to having princes among the cadets - the entire Jordanian royal family trained here - so Harry will just be one of the guys."

He will take a special crash course in basic soldiering which lasts five weeks, half the time of the noncommissioned officers.

After that, he will start his "leadership training".

During his 44-week course, Harry will also go on adventure training exercises which could include diving in the Red Sea, walking through the Grand Canyon or rock climbing in the Andes.

Of the 800 cadets, only about 10 per cent fail to complete the course each year. Dropouts are usually due to a change of heart about a career, injury or failure to reach required standards. The average age is 23.