Prince Harry flies high after failing his pilot's theory test

PRINCE Harry has taken the controls of a training aircraft for the first time during his pilot training - days after failing his theory exams.

Harry, 24, grinned and shared a joke with his instructor after a session piloting a Slingsby Firefly at RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire.

The prince is a few weeks into a two-year course to become a helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps at nearby RAF Cranwell.

He is likely to return to the front line in Afghanistan if he passes.

A royal insider said today: "This is a real milestone for Harry. He has flown a Slingsby during his grading but this is the first time he has done so during real training. He'll be delighted."

Harry is understood to have failed his first pilot theory test last week, but Army chiefs are giving him extra tuition to make sure he passes at his second attempt.

They are also sending him on an equality and diversity course as a disciplinary procedure following weeks of negative headlines about his alleged racist comments. Harry apologised for remarks about an Army cadet from Pakistan on camera three years ago. Comedian Stephen K Amos then revealed the prince had told him he did not "sound like a black chap".

Harry hopes to fly an Apache attack helicopter on the front line, but may be given a reconnaissance Lynx or Gazelle helicopter depending on how well he performs.

He spent 10 weeks in Afghanistan last year as a forward air controller in Helmand province, guiding fighter jets towards suspected Taliban targets. He was secretly serving under a news blackout but was forced to return home last February after a website revealed his deployment.

Prince William is also training to be a helicopter pilot with the RAF Search and Rescue Force.