Royal Navy rite of passage that left Prince William all at sea

Generations of his family have served in the Royal Navy with distinction, so Prince William was no doubt anxious to impress on his big day.

Unfortunately, Sub-Lieutenant Wales found his first forays on the water anything but plain sailing.

Instructed to slip anchor on the training ship HMS Hindostan, William was handed a 14lb mallet - known in the service as a maul - and told to give its chain a good whack.

This is to knock off a ring holding the anchor in place, allowing it to drop into the water.

William managed to make a connection, but embarrassingly the anchor failed to budge.

At the second attempt, it slipped on to the river bed - but not before William had been reminded he owed the rest of the ten-strong team a beer.

His instructor, Petty Officer Wayne 'Rats' Rattenbury, explained: 'It's a tradition in the Navy for anyone who misses slipping the anchor first time to buy those on the ship a crate.

'It was tough for Sub-Lieutenant Wales that he went first - not to mention in front of an audience - but he should be comforted by the fact that one lad once took 16 goes before he got it right.'

William, 25, was at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon, where he will spend the next three weeks undergoing basic training.

Before his slip-up on the Hindostan, William took the controls of an 11-ton motor boat and completed a series of manoeuvres on the river.

Off to sea: William heads out of the harbour... but his ship is not quite as impressive as he might have hoped for

The Prince and his fellow Navy trainees get some instruction aboard the 40ft boat

According to the director of training, Commander Paul Halton, the prince was a natural.

'It normally takes cadets several weeks to pick it up and he has mastered it in a day,' he said. 'I was very impressed.'

Prince Charles spent six weeks at Dartmouth in 1971 before being given command of his own ship. Prince Philip served in the Royal Navy in the Second World War, while Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War.

William failed in his first attempt to 'slip' the anchor and joked he owed a fellow sailor a crate of beer

Model pupil? William raises a point during some classroom training

Sub Lieutenant Wales on his second day training with the Royal Navy in Dartmouth, Devon...