Here the 28-year-old, who is due to wed Kate at Westminster Abbey on Friday, is seen in his Armed Forces gear - one hopes that his wife-to-be likes her man in uniform.
Since leaving St Andrews University - where he met and studied with Kate - six years ago, the Prince has excelled in a number of roles for the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
Taking aim: Prince William buries his cheek in to the side of a rifle and looks through the sight before firing the weapon while on commando training
These pictures, released by the Ministry of Defence as a special treat for Royalists and well-wishers ahead of the wedding, show the Prince getting his hands - and his face - dirty.
With his beret screwed on tightly the Sandhurst graduate is shown burying his cheek into the butt of a rifle while with officers at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone.
He squints his right eye and, with his left, looks down the sight as his left index finger hovers over the trigger, ready to fire.
Mucking in: Prince William has his face camouflaged while at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone in 2008
Listening and learning: The second-in-line to the throne, with 'W Wales' stitched on to his uniform, focuses on the advice given by a superior officer
In October 2005, four months after graduating from the old Scottish university, the Prince underwent selection to judge his suitability to become an Army officer in front of the Regular Commissions Board at Westbury in Wiltshire.
After getting the nod he then knuckled down to some serious training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in January 2006 - and he graduated in December later that year.
On December 15 he and his fellow graduate officers paraded in front of the Queen and the Prince of Wales - his grandparents - along with other members of the Royal Family.
Then, at midnight, the Prince officially received his commission as a lieutenant, and used the name William Wales.
William followed his younger brother, Harry, into the Blues and Royals as a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit.
And later he spent four months in training for the post at Bovington Camp, Dorset, before impressing during an attachment with the RAF.
Flying officer: Prince William assisted with manning a C-17 Globemaster to Afghanistan
The Prince took part in an intensive four-month training course at RAF Cranwell, which he competed in April 2008.
At the graduation ceremony William was presented his RAF wings by his father, Prince Charles, who had himself finished the same training at Cranwell decades earlier.
During a secondment with the RAF Prince William assisted with flying a C-17 Globemaster en route to the war in Afghanistan.
And, as a flying officer, he also helped in the repatriation of the body of Trooper Robert Pearson.
Hero: The Prince also help with the repatriation of a downed officer in the war zone
In the hot seat: Sub-lieutenant Wales at the controls of a Royal Navy Mk IV Sea King during his visit to the British Royal Navy Air Station, Yovilton, Somerset in 2008
Following his time with the RAF William trained with the Navy for two months - from June to August 2008 - including a three-week spell at the Britannia Royal Naval College.
Here he trained on submarines and units of the surface fleet, as well as with the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines, before being deploying for a further five week period on HMS Iron Duke in the Caribbean.
On his Caribbean tour the Prince took part in secret underwater missions and raids - and was key in helping to identify and capture a vessel that was smuggling some £40million worth of cocaine.
Keeping an eye on things: The Prince is shown on board HMS Iron Duke, while training in the Atlantic Ocean
William has also trained as a full time search and rescue helicopter pilot - a role which enables him to take an active role as a member of the Armed Forces without being deployed on combat operations.
In January 2010, he graduated from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury and later that month he transferred to the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley on Anglesey to receive training on the Sea King search and rescue helicopter - he graduated from the course last September.
The Prince was due to remain at RAF Valley, North Wales, for his operational tour and has being assigned to No 22 Squadron.
In charge: Sub-lieutenant Wales looks calm during his spell training with the Royal Navy
Welcome aboard: Prince William is greeted by the captain as he arrives on board HMS Trumpeter in Portsmouth
Initially a co-pilot, William participated in his first rescue mission last October, following an emergency call from the Liverpool Coastguard.
The Prince and his crew flew from their base in Anglesey to an offshore gas rig in Morecambe Bay, where he airlifted a man who had suffered an apparent heart attack to a local hospital.
On Friday Prince William will be in a uniform of another, smarter, kind - but this action man has wowed his wife-to-be with his bravery during his time with the Armed Forces.
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