Britons stranded¹ at sea or in flooded homes could find a real-life prince riding to their rescue.

Prince William announced on Monday that he is to train to be a full-time² pilot with the Royal Air Force's Search and Rescue Force (SARF).

William, who is currently a Lieutenant³ in the Army's Household Cavalry⁴ Regiment⁵, will transfer to the RAF and begin an 18-month training course in January 2009.

If successful, he will become a fully⁶ operational Search and Rescue pilot in 2010, flying Sea King helicopters at one of the six SARF units based in Britain.

"The time I spent with the RAF earlier this year made me realize how much I love flying," the prince, who spent two weeks with a SARF team while on work experience in 2005, said in a statement.

"Joining Search and Rescue is a perfect opportunity for me to serve in the Forces operationally, while contributing to a vital part of the country's Emergency Services."

It means he will follow a similar career to that of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was a Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands war.

The Search and Rescue teams' main duty is to recover RAF personnel but in peacetime they mainly respond to civilian⁷ emergencies, dealing⁸ with more than 1,000 calls a year.

The units deal with incidents ranging from helping⁹ those trapped by sudden major floods to rescuing people lost while out walking on hills.

William, who has spent the last year on secondment to the various branches of the military to prepare for his future role as head of the armed forces, received his RAF wings following a four-month stint¹⁰ with the service earlier this year.

However, his time with the RAF was clouded when the Defense¹¹ Ministry¹² was forced to fend¹³ off criticism for allowing the prince to fly military helicopters to a bachelor party for his cousin and to the family home of his girlfriend Kate Middleton.

 以后英国人如果被困海上或洪水中，就会有一个真正的王子来救他们了。

威廉王子于本周一宣布，他将受训成为“皇家空军搜救队”的一名全职飞行员。

现为皇家骑兵团中尉的威廉王子将转往皇家空军，并将从明年1月开始接受为期18个月的训练课程。

如果一切顺利，威廉王子将于2010年正式成为一名全职搜救飞行员，届时他将供职于皇家空军搜救支队，并将驾驶海王直升机执行搜救任务。皇家空军搜救队共有六个支队。

威廉王子在一份声明中说：“今年早些时候，我在皇家空军受训过一段时间，这段经历让我意识到自己多么热爱飞行。”2005年，他曾在皇家搜救队实习过两周。

他说：“加入搜救队对于我来说是一个很好的机会，我可以更切实地为军队服务，同时也能为国家的应急服务做点贡献。”

这就意味着，威廉王子将继承叔叔安德鲁王子的“事业”。安德鲁王子在1982年的马岛战争中就是一名救援飞行员，当时他驾驶的也是海王直升机。

皇家搜救队的主要职责是救助皇家空军的士兵，但在和平时期，他们主要负责民众的紧急救援。皇家搜救队每年要处理1000多起紧急救援任务。

从解救被突袭洪水围困的群众到救助登山时迷路的人，都是救援队的工作范围。

去年，威廉王子一直在军队的各个部门间调动，为他日后担任三军统帅做准备。今年早些时候，他在完成四个月的飞行训练后，获得了英国皇家空军的一枚飞行勋章。

不过，威廉王子在皇家空军受训期间并不太平。比如他竟然获准驾驶军用直升机参加他堂兄的单身派对，以及他驾驶的飞机降落在女友凯特•米德尔顿的家中，英国国防部不得不为此承担很大压力。