Royal Watch News

Prince William to be deployed to the Falkland islands today

Feb 6, 2012, 17:41 GMT

Prince William

Prince William is set to be deployed to the Falkland Islands today (01.02.12).
The deployment of the prince - part of his training as a Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue helicopter pilot - is earlier than was expected, and he will fly out from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, tonight.
While on the Falklands he will be crewing one of two search and rescue helicopters, which are on call 24 hours a day.
They will take part in missions flying out of a large British military base, 45 minutes from Stanley, the islands' capital. William's deployment is part of standard training for RAF search and rescue pilots.
This is the longest period of time William and his wife Duchess Catherine will have been separated since their April 2011 wedding but she is said to be 'very supportive' of the posting.
However, not everyone is happy with William's trip to the islands. Although they have been classed as an internally self-governing British Overseas Territory, Argentina has claimed sovereignty resulting in a war between the two countries in 1982 which was eventually won by Britain.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has recently blasted Argentinian officials for their renewed claims on the Falklands.
He said: 'We support the Falklands' right to self-determination, and what the Argentinians have been saying recently I would argue is actually far more like colonialism, because these people want to remain British, and the Argentinians want them to do something else.'