Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, will be spending a month at an international financial institution in London in the near future, but where is Prince Charles's son going for his work experience? Spread-betting firm Cantor Index has some odds to offer.
In the lead is Royal Bank of Scotland at 2/1, after blue-blood favourite JPMorgan Cazenove (the royal broker) confirmed that Will would not be joining it. Merrill Lynch was also up in the running with odds on at one point, because of the prince's ties with Merrill employee Edward Van Cutsem. Senior staff at Merrill claim to have heard no such thing, however, and the odds have moved out to 3/1.
"Do any of the US investment banks need the disruption of having the heir to the throne as a short-term visitor," points out Cantorindex.com. It suggests instead a top-class but run-of-the-mill clearing bank might be a more suitable choice.
HSBC Bank certainly fits the bill, with odds at 5/2.
Barclays has widened out to 3/1, and its private-banking subsidiary – where Lord Robert Fellowes, Will's uncle and former private secretary to the queen, is a director – is 8/1.
