The 25-year-old second-in-line to the British throne, Prince William, sparked fury on Saturday night after he landed his 15,000 pounds an hour Royal Air Force chopper in the paddock of girlfriend Kate Middleton’s home at Bucklebury.

“At a time when there is a lack of kit in Afghanistan and Iraq this is a total waste of money,” an unnamed military source was quoted by British tabloid as saying. Middleton and her parents Michael and Carole watched as the Prince practiced a series of landings and take-offs in the ten million pounds chopper during a two-hour military training exercise.

“He clearly hasn’t lost the hunger to impress Kate. If you’ve got to practice taking off and landing in a field, it might as well be one close to the prospective in-laws,” the tabloid quoted a royal insider as saying.

Ministry defend

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence in a statement defended Prince William saying it was “fully authorised.”

“Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations,” it said.