He has in his time been Wills, Prince William of Wales and, most recently, Lieutenant Wales. As of today, we can all start calling him Golden Osprey.

Prince William this week starts his training as a helicopter pilot for the RAF Search and Rescue Force (SARF) at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire, an 18-month course that is likely to see him committed to the RAF for the next five years.

Like everything else of any significance in the military, his arrival at the Defence Helicopter Flying School has been allocated a code name, a seemingly random and certainly mysterious process that has resulted in his enrolment being dubbed Golden Osprey.

The Prince, 26, whose earlier training ended in embarrassment when he used an RAF helicopter for a private jaunt to the home of the parents of his girlfriend Kate Middleton, will train on Squirrels and Griffins before moving on to the workhorse of the SAR, the Sea King. During the next few weeks he is expected to overlap at RAF Shawbury with Prince Harry, who is about to start helicopter training with the Army Air Corps.

When William eventually joins SAR as a fully qualified pilot in late 2010 or early 2011, he will be posted to one of the force’s six bases around the country, from Lossiemouth in the Highlands to Chivenor on the north Devon coast.

Stricken yachtsmen, troubled trawler crews, mountaineers who have lost their way — all will be potential candidates for a rescue by Flight Lieutenant Wales.

While the RAF is delighted to welcome him into their ranks — he transferred from the Army officially on January 1 — and Prince William is clearly pleased to have a job that combines his love of flying with the prospect of helping others, some Royal watchers have been more exercised by the effect it will have on his relationship with Ms Middleton.

An operational tour — of which he is expected to do one, if not two — lasts 30-36 months, which will take him to about 2014. He would normally be expected to do one six to eeight-week stint in the Falkland Islands every year.

While some observers have interpreted this career move as an attempt by William to put off marriage, it should not, in theory, cramp his style. Even as a trainee pilot he would be entitled to married quarters or, more realistically, be allowed to spend his weekends in his own accommodation off-base.

After doing basic helicopter training, the Prince will move to North Wales for two courses in search and rescue work at RAF Valley.

His training, which is estimated to cost £800,000, will involve a working day of 8am to 5pm with plenty of study and preparation for the next day’s sortie to keep him occupied in the evenings.

“We work our students very hard during military training,” said Group Captain David Prowse, station commander at RAF Shawbury. “We put them under a lot of pressure, because in a few months when they leave they could find themselves low level, at night, in a Sea King in bad weather, trying to get someone to hospital or off the hills.

“But we also need them to do sport and team building and have a social life together. That’s how we maintain our cohesion in the military forces. In the evening we expect them to get together in the mess or maybe in the bar.”

At the weekends, he said, they might go to one of the pubs in nearby Shrewsbury. Drinking opportunities will be severely limited, however: no alcohol can be consumed in the ten hours before a flight, and only very limited alcohol in the 24 hours beforehand. No mid-week trips to Boujis, then.

None of that, however, should be any bar to William enjoying himself. “You work hard and enjoy yourself,” said Flying Officer John Longland, 22, a student who graduates this week to start flying Pumas. “It’s really good fun. It’s every boy’s dream.”

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