Prince Harry faces the prospect of what in polite army circles is called an interview without coffee - and in less polite ones "a bit of a bollocking" - over video footage in which he called a fellow cadet at Sandhurst a "Paki" and another a "raghead".
The extracts, much of which the prince shot himself, appeared to be his latest successful attempt to shoot himself in the foot. The remarks, which were splashed in the News of the World yesterday, were roundly condemned by politicians and some British Muslim spokesmen.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission demanded an inquiry.
The footage released by the newspaper and published on its website shows the prince three years ago as a 21-year-old officer cadet during a military exercise in Cyprus. In one extract his camera pans round his colleagues, sleeping in the RAF departure lounge while waiting for their flight. Homing in on one fellow cadet, the prince is heard to say, quietly: "Ah, our little Paki friend Ahmed."
This turned out to be Ahmed Raza Khan, now a captain in the Pakistani army, who was awarded the best overseas cadet prize at Sandhurst. If he heard the remark at the time, he did not react to it.
Another sequence, taken at night, has him filming a fellow cadet wearing a camouflage hood with the remark: "It's Dan the Man. Fuck me, you look like a raghead. Look at me, look at me ... look away," with which his colleague complied. "Raghead" is army slang for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, St James's Palace said yesterday.
A further extract, filmed by someone else, shows a mock briefing by the prince, dressed in combat gear with his face painted with camouflage and cigarette in hand. It starts with him supposedly completing a mobile phone call with his grandmother and jokingly saying: "I've got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis and Grandpa ... God save you." The remarks were interpreted by the News of the World as insulting the Queen.
When he asked colleagues whether there were any questions at the end of his briefing, one asked: "Are your pubes ginger too?" The prince replied, laughing: "Yes, they are." Further inimitable adolescent extracts show him kissing a comrade and asking another whether he feels gay, queer, or on the side. "All is good in the empire," he says on several occasions.
The extracts were greeted with exasperation in palace circles, where huge efforts have been made to improve the prince's image, emphasising his charity work and service in Afghanistan last year, after previous apologies for other incidents, such as the fancy dress party four years ago when he dressed as a Nazi soldier.
Yesterday, it was being insisted that the prince had grown up a lot recently. Clarence House issued an immediate apology for the video episode and the MoD said the armed services had zero tolerance of racism, sexism and homophobia in the ranks, despite persistent allegations to the contrary. A spokesman said the MoD was taking the matter very seriously and that any allegations would be investigated, though he added: "We are not aware of any complaint having been made."
Military sources suggested administrative action was likely - a stiff interview between the prince and his commanding officer and an official letter of displeasure added to his service record, which could delay or affect his promotion prospects.
An army spokesman said: "The army does not tolerate inappropriate behaviour in any shape or form. The army takes all allegations of inappropriate behaviour very seriously and all substantive allegations are investigated. This specific case will be dealt with in line with normal army procedures."
Politicians appearing on Sunday morning programmes offered ritual criticism. The cabinet minister John Denham told Sky News: "This sort of language can be seen as offensive, is gradually going out of use in our society and he's apologised for it ... people have changed their attitudes (and) realise how offensive it is."
He added that there was almost nothing the royal family could do without making front-page news: "You also need to see these things in perspective and sometimes recognise that society is changing and you move on."
David Cameron, the Tory leader, said the remarks were "obviously completely unacceptable" but said a reprimand was unnecessary in the light of his apology.
The Lib Dems' leader, Nick Clegg, said the remarks had caused considerable offence.
Mohammed Shafiq, director of the Ramadan Foundation, said he was shocked and saddened: "This rant, whether today or three years ago is sickening and he should be thoroughly ashamed of himself."
But Iftakhar Raja, uncle of Ahmed Raza Khan, told BBC Five Live: "I am proud to be British and if someone called me Pakistani I would be proud to be called that, but Paki is definitely a derogatory remark. We expect better from our royal family, on whom we spend millions and millions of pounds for training and schooling."