PRINCE WILLIAM is planning to do a stint as a civil servant in the Foreign Office as he casts around for a fulfilling long-term role.

He is being lined up for a desk job in Whitehall, to start after he leaves the armed forces, likely to be towards late 2009.

The plan, being finalised by palace officials, comes after a period of uncertainty. Earlier this year William split with his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, before reportedly taking steps recently to rekindle their relationship.

He suffered a snub when John Howard, the Australian prime minister, made it clear he would not be welcome in the ceremonial post of the country’s governor-general. Howard said the job should be given to an Australian.

Like his father, the Prince of Wales, William faces the prospect of waiting for decades before becoming king and is said to feel unsettled as contemporaries pursue careers.

Courtiers say he is eager to take a highly structured approach to his preparations for his future role as monarch. “[The Foreign Office job] will give him a grounding in the workings of departments which will one day act in his name,” one palace in-sider said.

“It is an ideal element in his continuing preparation for kingship. It could also be beneficial to constructive relations between the government and a future heir.”

William is expected to complete another 18 months in the army, serving as a troop leader in the Household Cavalry. At the moment he is on a tank commander’s course at Bovington in Dorset.

While William has enjoyed elements of his time in the army, it has never been considered a long-term career. One of his circle said: “He is never going to be as committed to the army as his brother. At Eton the cadets were never a passion for him.”

In 2009 he will train with the Royal Navy and the RAF, where he will learn to fly. He will then become a civilian and will be in need of a job.

His clearer “career” map coincides with a renewed closeness between William and Middleton. Last Sunday she was seen sitting in the royal box at the Concert for Diana at Wembley and the couple were later photographed at the after-show party enjoying a cocktail together.

There was speculation this weekend that Prince Harry is concerned William and Kate may rush to marry if they do get back together.

William gained a measure of financial independence on his 25th birthday last month, when he became legally entitled to an income of at least £250,000 a year accrued on the money left to him in his mother’s will. She left £13m after inheritance tax.

The prince’s planned Foreign Office placement could be followed by another civil service post in Whitehall, according to a senior royal source. It would be the first time a future monarch has worked as a civil servant.

In 2012 William will be 30 and it will also be the Queen’s diamond jubilee. In that year, courtiers expect him to take on a full round of royal engagements.

Some courtiers have also discussed the possibility of him taking over responsibility for The Prince’s Trust, created by his father.

There have been several discussions in the royal family about William’s future and it is thought the possibility of him being made governor-general of Australia emerged from those talks.

William’s desire for the post was reported by Tina Brown, the former editor of Vanity Fair, in her biography of Diana. Brown claims William had discussed the possible role with his father.

Prince Charles himself had expressed a wish to serve in the same post but this was rejected by Bob Hawke after he became prime minister of Australia in 1983. William’s ambition has been similarly rejected by Australia’s political leaders, with Kevin Rudd, the opposition leader, saying it would be “party, party, party” if William were ever given the post.

Howard, the premier, has said: “I do think the practice of having a person who is an Australian in every way and a long-term and permanent resident of this country is a practice I would not like to see altered.”

However, monarchists have pointed out that because William is destined to become the head of state, it does not make sense to deny him the post of governor-general, representing the monarch.

In a statement the group Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, which was successful in the 1999 referendum campaign to keep the monarchy, said: “The appointment of Prince William would be very popular and attract international attention.”

It also branded Rudd’s comments as disrespectful, saying the outspoken opposition of leading republican politicians had ensured it would not happen.

Last week Charles was a guest at the Foreign Office where he met David Miliband, the foreign secretary, but it is not known if William’s placement was discussed. A Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment, and Clarence House officials said it was too early to comment.

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