Britain's Prince William will start flying in his new job as an air ambulance pilot job in the summer.

Prince William

Prince William

Royal sources have told BBC News that the Duke of Cambridge will still start the position in the spring, as has been previously announced, but he won't actually take to the cockpit of a helicopter until later this year.

William - whose wife Duchess Catherine is currently pregnant with their second child, who is due in April - will be based at Cambridge Airport, where he will work with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA).

The 32-year-old prince - who has 17-month-old son Prince George with Catherine - will work for company Bond Air Services, who have two helicopters for the charity's use in Norwich and Cambridge, east England.

His £40,000-a-year salary is to be donated to charity and he was recently said to be very excited about starting a new job.

He wrote: "His Royal Highness is hugely excited and motivated about this opportunity.

"He sees this as public service in its truest sense, helping people in the most difficult of circumstances on the front line. He sees it as a privilege to be able to serve in this way."