London, June 27 (Reuters): Prince William, second in line to the British throne, may be headed for a US investment bank when he works for a city financial house for a month late this year, according to bookmakers today.

Betting firm Cantor Index has opened a market on the likely destination of the 23-year-old prince, with Merrill Lynch and the investment arm of JP Morgan Chase emerging among the favourites.

The asset management industry is seen as a likely track for the young geography graduate given his potential interest in family trusts and the long-standing links between the British monarchy and charitable work, bankers said.

In its list of “Runners and Riders”, the city bookmaker had Merrill Lynch at five to four odds, in part because family friend Edward van Cutsem already works in its investment management arm. “We of course would be happy to accommodate him,” a spokesman for Merrill Lynch said.

Merrill Lynch Investment Management is also one of the biggest managers of charitable funds including the Prince's Trust, which was founded by Prince Charles.

TORONTO -- Britain's Prince Harry on Tuesday marched during a parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Camberley, England. But his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, cancelled her appearance after catching a cold.

A bad cold forced the 79-year-old monarch to cancel three engagements earlier this week, including a planned visit to the military academy where Prince Harry is a cadet officer.

The queen developed a sore throat over the weekend and has a "heavy" cold, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said.

She withdrew from a reception late Monday to mark the centenary of the charity Friends of the Elderly at St. James' Palace in central London.

The queen is often described as robustly healthy. She travels around Britain and abroad frequently.

Prince Harry is the third in line to the British throne after his father, Prince Charles, and older brother, Prince William. But the queen so far has no plans to step down.

Reporter with fake bomb gets near Prince Harry

CTV.ca News Staff

Britain is being rocked by another royal security scare after an undercover reporter carried a fake bomb into the elite military academy where Prince Harry is attending.

The tabloid newspaper, The Sun, said one of its reporters was allowed through the gates of the prestigious Sandhurst military academy by posing as a student trying to arrange an appointment.

The journalist said he was a "warfare student", researching the causes of the Gulf War.

He was able to spend eight hours walking around the grounds of Sandhurst.

And, at one point he returned to his car where he put together a fake bomb made up of wires, a clock, a battery and plasticine.

Harry was at Sandhurst while all this was going on.

The Sun even printed a photo on its front page, of Harry with fellow cadets, reportedly taken from video footage from their reporter.

Now, Britain's Defence Secretary, John Reid, is demanding an investigation into what he termed a "serious security breach".

'No excuses'

"There are no excuses," Reid told the BBC.

And, a ministry of Defence official has also told the BBC: "We will be implementing any changes we feel are necessary."

Last month, Harry began a 44-week officer training course.

"I am really excited. I want to get on with it and do the best job I can do," Harry said at the time, in a statement issued through his father's office.

The prince and 270 other new recruits face a gruelling schedule, rising early, marching and walking to up 50 kilometres a day with a heavy pack on his back, and digging trenches, among other things.

Cadets are also expected to polish their own shoes and do their own ironing. They live in modest quarters, furnished with a single bed, sink and wardrobe. They are not allowed to leave the site of the academy or wear civilian clothing.

This latest security breach is adding to concern about the safety of the Royal Family.

Last September, a protester dressed in a Batman costume scaled the front wall of Buckingham Palace and perched for more than five hours on a ledge near the balcony where the Royal Family appears on ceremonial occasions.

And in June 2003, a comedian dressed as Osama bin Laden gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, kissing the prince on both cheeks.

The Royal Family's public appearances are usually known in advance, and the Queen is said to discourage security walls between her and her subjects.

LATEST: British royal PRINCE HARRY has slammed reports an undercover journalist exposed the poor security around him by secretly filming him, armed with a fake bomb - insisting someone else was captured on the video.

The reporter, from British newspaper THE SUN, claims he wandered through the grounds of Sandhurst Military Academy - where the 22-year-old is based - and secretly filmed him training and studying in his bedroom, to prove the young royal's safety is being compromised by lax security measures.

But the prince watched the footage and confirmed the star of the film is somebody else.

A spokesman for the royal family's Clarence House office says, "Harry watched the video and says it's not him.

"It was filmed at New College. Harry has no reason to be there. He's based at OId College."

But a spokeswoman at The Sun says, "The footage is Prince Harry. We stand by it 100 per cent.

"The Clarence House denial is absurd."