Prince Harry faces inquiry over film

Prince Harry (pictured) is facing an inquiry by his military superiors following the release of video footage in which he called a fellow cadet at Sandhurst a "Paki" and said another colleague looked like a "raghead", a perjorative term widely used in the armed forces to describe Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

The video clips, much of which the prince, 24, shot himself, appeared on the News of the World’s website, and have been roundly condemned by politicians, among them the Tory leader David Cameron,  and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who have demanded the inquiry.

The footage was shot three years ago when Harry, now a lieutenant, was a 21-year-old officer cadet. In one extract his camera pans round his colleagues, who are sleeping in an RAF departure lounge in Cyprus following a military excercise. Homing in on one fellow cadet, the prince is heard to say, quietly: "Ah, our little Paki friend Ahmed."

The person is question was Ahmed Raza Khan, who was awarded the best overseas cadet prize at Sandhurst. He did not appear to hear the remark.

Another sequence has the Prince filming a fellow cadet wearing a camouflage hood with the remark: "It's Dan the Man. Fuck me, you look like a raghead."

In another clip, the Prince appears to be mocking his grandmother, the Queen, completing a pretend mobile phone saying: "I've got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis and Grandpa ... God save you." When he asked colleagues if they had any further 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.

The extracts are said to have caused massive consternation in palace circles, where huge efforts have been made to improve the prince's public image after a number of previous incidents, including his decion to dress up as a Nazi soldier for a fancy dress party.

Military sources suggested administrative action was likely, which could delay or affect the Prince's promotion prospects. ·