Britain's Prince William, eager to draw a line under a decade of conspiracy theories about the death of his mother Princess Diana, graduated as an army officer on Friday to launch his military career.
The second in line to the throne paraded before his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, at the elite Sandhurst military academy in a ceremony famed for its pomp and circumstance.
Among those watching was William's long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton, fueling tabloid speculation about the 24-year-old future king's possible marriage plans. It was the first time that Middleton, sporting a bright scarlet winter coat, had appeared at such a high-profile event attended by members of the House of Windsor.
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William took to the parade ground the day after a British police inquiry ruled that his mother, Princess Diana, was not the victim of a murder plot when she and her lover were killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997.
Kate Middleton and Prince William had met at St. Andrew's university in Scotland, where they both studied, and have been going out together since 2002.
William is joining the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals Regiment, as his younger brother Harry did. Now formally known as 2nd Lieutenant William Wales, he will train to be a troop commander in an armored reconnaissance unit although, as a future monarch, he is unlikely to see front line action.
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