Prince Harry apologised last night for using the term “Paki” about a member of his platoon after he was caught on camera making racist remarks and mocking the Queen.

In the film, taken on a camcorder in 2006 while Harry was training to be an officer, the young prince refers to an Asian army colleague as “our little Paki friend” and jokes with another that he looks like a “raghead”, an offensive term for an Arab.

Last night Clarence House issued an apology for the 24-year-old’s behaviour, saying, “Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause.”

An aide said that Harry had never intended to insult his friend, adding: “On this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon.

“There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend.”

In further clips from the film Harry mocks his grandmother, the Queen, amid laughter from his colleagues, as he pretends to end a phone call with her by saying: “I’ve got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis. Send my love to the corgis and grandpa.” He then adds: “God Save You . . .”

The footage was shot as Harry joined other cadets at a training camp in Cyprus - just a year after he courted controversy for turning up at a fancy dress party as a Nazi soldier complete with swastika on his shirt sleeve. The incident in January 2005, forced the then 20-year-old to apologise.

The video captures Harry, now training to be a helicopter pilot, making his first offensive remark as young troops wait at an airport to be flown out to the Mediterranean.

The prince, behind the camera, pans across the departure hall, where other soldiers are sleeping, and spots an Asian cadet when he is heard to say: “Anybody else around here? Ah, our little Paki friend, Ahmed.”

Harry made the second comment while filming a night exercise, where one of his comrades is seen wearing some camouflage headwear.

“It’s Dan the Man,” says Harry. “F*** me you look like a raghead. Look at me, look at me.”

The royal spokesman said the term “raghead” had been used by the prince to describe a “Taliban or Iraqi insurgent”.

The video diary also captures Harry smoking cigarettes, joking with friends on manoeuvres and on nights out. In 2002 Harry confessed to smoking cannabis in the grounds of Highgrove.

He was also pictured swigging from a bottle of vodka after the England team’s triumph in the rugby union World Cup in 2003.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said: “Neither the army nor the armed forces tolerates inappropriate behaviour. We are not aware of any complaint having been made by the individual.”

A spokeswoman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “These appear to be disturbing allegations and we will be asking the MoD to see the evidence, share that evidence with us and their plans for dealing with it.”

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