Argentina has hit out at the decision to send the Duke of Cambridge to serve as an RAF helicopter pilot in the Falklands, saying he will wear "the uniform of a conquistador".

Buenos Aires said it has no intention of going to war over the Falkland Islands, and accused Britain of militarising their sovereignty dispute by sending one of its most modern warships to the islands.

The Duke is scheduled to serve in the islands this year.

That is another sore point for Argentina, whose foreign ministry complains that William "will arrive on our soil in the uniform of a conquistador".

The ministry was commenting after Britain announced it is sending the destroyer HMS Dauntless to the disputed South Atlantic archipelago, which Argentina claims as the Malvinas Islands.

Argentine forces invaded the islands in 1982 but were driven out by a British taskforce with the loss of hundreds of lives.