RAF boss rages over William’s latest helicopter stunt

The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshall Sir Glenn Torphy, has been sent into a rage by Prince William's latest helicopter adventure - it was revealed yesterday that he'd flown a Chinook down to his girlfriend Kate Middleton's family home in Berkshire, performing a few stunts and then landing in a field opposite the house.

Although the MoD has publicly defended William, claiming the trip was part of his "routine training", in private officials are understood to be furious about the way William is rapidly undermining the "good PR" that his four-month attachment had generated for the RAF. Mindful of military budgets and a chronic shortage of Chinooks in Afghanistan, Torphy is believed to be incandescent over the "sheer stupidity" of the situation and has demanded a "line by line" explanation from his subordinates.

The Prince made the trip on April 3. The sortie, which lasted two hours, was made at an estimated cost of £30,000. No doubt buoyed by the success of this mission - Kate was said to be terribly impressed - the Prince borrowed another Chinook a week later to fly to the Isle of Wight for a stag party, briefly stopping off at the Woolwich Barracks in London to pick up Prince Harry.

The MoD may well huff and puff about the Prince's behaviour, but in truth there's little they can do about it and disciplinary action would seem unlikely. “Basically he is the heir to the throne and a special case. Because of this he can do pretty much what he likes,” said an RAF source wanly.