Prince William flies in to diplomatic storm in Falklands
Related articles
The Duke of Cambridge arrived in the Falkland Islands last night as he embarked on a six-week posting with the RAF, further inflaming already-testy diplomatic relations between the UK and Argentina, writes Rob Hastings.
Prince William, who will serve as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, has been branded a "conquistador" by the Argentinian government.
There were demonstrations in Buenos Aires to the visit, above, and Argentinia's government is reportedly considering an economic blockade of the islands, which it calls Las Islas Malvinas, by stopping the only weekly flight from South America to Port Stanley. Coming two months before the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, which saw the South Atlantic islands re-established as British territory after the surrender of occupying Argentinian forces in 1982, Argentina claims the arrival of the heir to the throne is a "provocative" gesture. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also said that it "rejected the British attempt to militarise [the] conflict".
The Ministry of Defence insists Prince William's arrival was part of a "routine operational deployment" but its coincidence with the deployment of the Royal Navy's most advanced air-defence warships – the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless – has riled President Cristina Kirchner.
* Philip Hensher: My solution to the Falklands problem: sell them
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
Man and woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder victim of Woolwich machete attack, named as Drummer Lee Rigby
-
'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
-
Exclusive: Suspect Michael Adebolajo was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
-
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space
- 1 Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alright as long as you do good
- 2 Man and woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder victim of Woolwich machete attack, named as Drummer Lee Rigby
- 3 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
- 4 'Something passed underneath us, quite close': Airbus A320 has close encounter with UFO
- 5 Lord of the Sings: Sir Christopher Lee, 91, to release heavy metal album
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
Day In a Page
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them






Comments