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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(hào)稱(chēng)"英國(guó)西點(diǎn)"的桑德赫斯特皇家軍事學(xué)院，從此開(kāi)始了他的軍事生涯。
繼弟弟哈里王子后，這位英國(guó)王室的第二王位繼承人也將在這所"精英院校"接受培訓(xùn)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(chǔ)一同來(lái)到這所位于英國(guó)南部坎巴利的學(xué)校，他將在這里接受一年的培訓(xùn)，在入學(xué)的第一天，他顯得有點(diǎn)不安和擔(dān)憂(yōu)。
去年10月，威廉通過(guò)正規(guī)軍服役委員會(huì)的考試后，被桑德赫斯特皇家軍事學(xué)院錄取。此項(xiàng)考試包括一系列的測(cè)試和任務(wù)，旨在評(píng)估應(yīng)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(shuō)，"我很高興自己闖過(guò)了第一關(guān)，但是通過(guò)與弟弟哈里多次交談后，我也非常清楚入學(xué)只是考驗(yàn)的開(kāi)始。"
"我真的很期待和桑德赫斯特的其他同學(xué)一起'并肩戰(zhàn)斗'。"
威廉有望成為英國(guó)的三軍總司令，這個(gè)職位長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)都是由君主執(zhí)掌的。
軍校司令安德魯·里奇將軍打趣說(shuō)，苦日子還在后面呢。
他說(shuō)："他們都習(xí)慣了一天工作4個(gè)小時(shí)，睡20個(gè)小時(shí)的日子。而我們將把這顛倒過(guò)來(lái)。"
2004年，威廉王子宣布考慮參軍時(shí)就說(shuō)過(guò)他不期待也不會(huì)接受特殊待遇。
他說(shuō)，"我最不想變成一個(gè)嬌生慣養(yǎng)的人，像溫室里的花朵一樣。如果我要參軍，我會(huì)和其他士兵們同甘共苦，并肩戰(zhàn)斗。"
21歲的哈里王子去年考入桑德赫斯特軍校，所以他事實(shí)上是威廉王子的學(xué)長(zhǎng)，他開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)，他期待著哥哥向他敬禮。
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站編譯) |
Updated: 2006-01-10 09:12
