Prince William graduates from Britain's top military academy

Sandhurst, England - All eyes were on Prince William Friday at a parade marking his graduation from Britain's elite Sandhurst military academy, in a new coming of age for the second in line to the throne.

 The 24-year-old was among 227 officer cadets passing out of the academy, southwest of London, in a ceremony watched by Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the royal family.

Following his graduation William is set to undergo another four months training in an armored reconnaissance unit whose soldiers have to show their "patience, nerve and cunning," according to the Ministry of Defence.

The queen was to give a speech to mark the occasion, also attended by William's father Prince Charles and his new wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The ceremony came just a day after William was reported to have been upset with details about how paparazzi behaved before and during the death his mother Princess Diana in a 1997 Paris car crash.

He was briefed on the details before publication Thursday of a report concluding that her death was a "tragic accident" and dismissing conspiracy theories of a murder plot by British intelligence at the behest of his grandfather Prince Philip.

Also due to attend was Kate Middleton, William's girlfriend, amid rampant speculation that the two are to marry soon -- one British retailer is so certain that an announcement is imminent, it is ready to sell 20 different souvenir items, from cups to computer mouse pads, that bear the smiling faces of the prince and Middleton.

All that needs to be added to them is a wedding date.

Apart from the occasional media interest in his time at Sandhurst, William was just a regular guy, his peers said.

Junior Under Officer Angela Laycock, 24, who is in William's Blenheim  Platoon, said: "I've not really noticed anything different to be honest. The first loaded march we had a bit of a detour (to avoid) some photographers.

"He's just a normal guy that gets stuck in like everybody else."

Laycock added: "The only difference is that sometimes we'll see his name in the paper and you didn't notice he'd been off that evening doing a charity do.

 William's brother, Prince Harry, will be abset from the ceremony as he will be with his own regiment.

Having chosen to join the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals like his younger brother, William will now undergo a four-month training course to become a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit.

Though currently out-ranked by his younger brother, a non-university graduate, William is likely to move on more quickly to becoming a captain because of his degree from St Andrews University in Scotland.

William has talked in the past about his intention to fight in conflict zones, but is unlikely to see front-line military action, given his status as a future monarch.

"The last thing I want to do is be mollycoddled or wrapped up in cotton wool because if I was to join the army I'd want to go where my men went and I'd want to do what they did," he once said.

Instead, after a year in the British Army, he will likely spend time with both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, in an effort to craft himself into a future King.

Agence France Presse