Prince Harry sets sail with his African queen

The 22-year-old Prince has been holidaying with his girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, in Namibia during a break from training with The Household Cavalry.

Travelling in a two-man Mohawk canoe, the couple have been paddling by day along the picturesque Orange River, occasionally stopping off to swim in the clear blue water and picnic.

Then by night the third-in-line-to-the-throne and Zimbabwean-born Chelsy, 21, have been bedding down in sleeping bags under the stars on the river bank.

Their week-long holiday has come as a welcome relief for army officer Harry, who has spent the last three weeks on an intensive training exercise in Scotland to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq.

Although top brass have expressed major reservations about sending a senior royal out to the conflict-ridden region, friends say the Prince is relishing the idea of front-line service.

But even his preparations for war couldn't prevent the prince jetting off for a romantic trip with stunning Chelsy, his girlfriend of two years, last week.

The trip was arranged to celebrate the end of university student Chelsy's finals. Harry arrived in Cape Town on Thursday, the day after she sat her last, gruelling two-hour paper in "advanced labour economics".

The couple spent two days partying before heading off on the eight-hour, five hundred mile drive to Nambia on Saturday afternoon.

Accompanied by a group of friends, the pair stayed over in the picturesque Provenance Camp, a short drive from the border with South Africa, before heading off down river into Nambia's untamed wilderness.

And yesterday, the couple were finally spotted as they larked around on the water on the final leg of their trip.

Looking stunning in a blue and white spotted bikini, Chelsy stretched gracefully skywards before diving in for a cooling dip in the 95F degree heat.

After clambering back into their canoe, which was packed with provisions, it was Harry's turn.

Unfortunately the gangling, six foot two inch prince was somewhat less graceful. Gingerly balancing on the edge of the boat, he had to tip himself in.

Then, as he tried to haul himself back inside, Harry appeared to get stuck, forcing giggling Chelsy to lean back and steady the craft.

After rinsing down their matching cowboy-style hats, the couple set back off on their way, with gentlemanly Harry picking up the oars to allow his girlfriend to soak up a few last-minute rays.

The couple arrived at their final destination, the glorious Norotshama Rover resort, shortly after lunch. Sitting on the balcony of their luxury thatched chalet, they toasted their river adventure with ice-cold bottles of beer before partying late into the night.

The couple will now drive back to Cape Town before Harry catches a flight to England where he will rejoin his regiment at their barracks in Windsor.

A Ministry of defence spokesman said Harry had taken annual leave for the trip and had not been given any special treatment.