Prince Charles dropped off his son in the pouring rain, giving the 23 year old a manly pat on the arm, with a weak smile the young prince, now known as Officier Cadet Wales, reciprocated by patting his father’s elbow.
Commandant of Sandhurst Major-General Andrew Ritchie, who greeted the pair on their arrival, insisted Prince William would receive no special privileges.
"He will be up early tomorrow morning and will then get stuck into military training.
"I can assure you that he will be treated the same as every other cadet.
Everyone is judged on merit," he said.
Gruelling Training
Sandhurst, the British equivalent of West Point in the United States or Saint-Cyr officer school in France, is famous for both the broad scope of its curriculum and its demanding discipline.
Prince William is among more than 270 recruits joining the academy for 44 weeks of gruelling training.
New recruits are banned from leaving the academy for the first five weeks of training.
That means the prince will spend more than a month apart from his girlfriend, Kate Middleton, who turns 24 tomorrow.
Prince William will be woken at dawn every day for the first five weeks to face a room inspection, when his equipment will be meticulously checked and must be placed in exactly the right spot.
Later in the course he will be allowed some weekends off.
The Prince will also find himself polishing boots, ironing shirts, facing intensive drill sessions and enduring intense physical training.
He will also have to do all his own laundry, duties normally performed by his servants at Clarence House.
And his thinning blond hair is expected to be cut short, just like the other recruits.
Most recruits to Sandhurst have their own small room with a bed, a sink, a chest of drawers, a cupboard and a desk.
Family Tradition
Military training was always going to be part of Prince William’s life, who if he one day becomes king will also head Britain's armed forces.
But his arrival at Sandhurst is a publicity coup for the army, because it’s the first time that two senior members of the Royal Family will be present at the same time.
The 23-year-old prince, is following in the footsteps of his younger brother Harry.
“Having both Prince William and Prince Harry at Sandhurst is a particular priviledge, but they will have little contact with each other because they will be too busy, and Prince Harry has already completed two terms,” General Ritchie told The Times.
Harry, 21, has been at the academy since May, while William graduated from Saint Andrew's University in Scotland with a degree in geography in June.
The brothers are set to emerge from Sandhurst as lieutenants, though William, thanks to his university education, will likely enjoy an earlier promotion to captain.
Most other men in the Royal Family have chosen the Royal Navy to serve in.
Their father, and heir to the throne, Prince Charles served in the Royal Navy, flying helicopters.
Prince William's grandfather Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was a naval officer on active duty in World War II.
Even Queen Elizabeth participated in military duties.
During World War II the then Princess Elizabeth joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, serving as a Subaltern (a rank below Captain) driving trucks and other vehicles.