Reuters
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles with Prince William (right) during the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, southern England yesterday.

CAMBERLEY, England

(Reuters):

Britain's Prince William, eager to draw a line under a decade of conspiracy theories about the death of his mother Princess Diana, graduated as an army officer yesterday to launch his military career.

The second in line to the throne paraded before his grand-mother, Queen Elizabeth, at the elite Sandhurst military academy in a ceremony famed for its pomp and circumstance.

"This is a milestone day ... which will stay forever in your minds," the 80-year-old monarch told the cadets.

Girlfriend present

Among those watching was William's long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton, fuelling tabloid speculation about the 24-year-old future king's possible marriage plans.

It was the first time that Middleton, sporting a bright scarlet winter coat, had appeared at such a high-profile event attended by members of the House of Windsor.

That prompted bookmaker William Hill to shorten the odds on a royal engagement from 5-1 to 2-1. "It is now a question of 'when' not 'if'," said spokesman Rupert Adams.

William took to the parade ground the day after a British police inquiry ruled that his mother, Princess Diana, was not the victim of a murder plot when she and her lover were killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997.