William begins naval attachment

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The future king, who began a two-month attachment with the Royal Navy this week, fluffed his first attempt at lowering an anchor - then joked he owed a "crate of beer" to a colleague following the mistake.

But when it came to boat-handling skills the Prince was praised for the way he controlled a 40ft craft on the picturesque waters of the River Dart in Dartmouth.

Sub-Lieutenant Wales, as he is known in the service, will spend the next three weeks undergoing basic naval training to learn core skills such as navigation and sea safety, and touring various units including the Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm.

The remaining five weeks will be spent with the frigate HMS Iron Duke, on duty in the North Atlantic, where the Prince is expected to join Navy patrols searching for drug-runners in Caribbean waters.

Commander Paul Halton, director of training at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where William is under instruction, praised his efforts on the water.

He said: "The vessel he was driving mimics in many respects how a frigate or a destroyer will handle, so that's been a really important skill for him to learn.

"The important point to make is that for some of the manoeuvres he did it would ordinarily take a young officer a number of weeks or months of training (to master) and he's got the hang of it in just a day - so pretty good."