Prince William allegedly misused copter

UPI — The propriety of Britain’s Prince William using a military helicopter to visit his girlfriend is being questioned, a political party spokesman said.

Liberal Democrat defense spokesman Nick Harvey said the accusations the prince used Kate Middleton’s backyard for a two-hour series of spins, turns, landings and takeoffs will undoubtedly be seen as a public relations nightmare for the 25-year-old member of the royal family, The Mail on Sunday reported.

“The prince will look back on this and realize it was a PR own goal,” Harvey said, meaning he would see it as a public relations black eye.

“It’s going to leave a lot of people wondering where the sense of priority lies if very serious helicopters are being made available for this sort of thing at a time when they are in such extreme need.”

A Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday the prince had permission to land in the field behind his girlfriend’s house in the county of Berkshire this month.

“Battlefield helicopters routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations,” the unidentified spokesman told the Mail.

“These highly honed skills are used daily in conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.”