NO doubt Chief Supt David Short of North Yorkshire police was looking forward to last Friday's royal visit. Getting to meet members of the royal family is one of the perks of senior officers' jobs.

So it must have come as something of shock to have a strip torn off him by the Duke of York for wearing the new police national uniform. The Duke clearly expected the officer to be wearing the traditional dress tunic rather than the casual bomber or blouson-style jacket of the new uniform.

There's nothing wrong with the new uniform. It's clearly practical and ideally suited to the sort of incident the modern police officer is likely to deal with. But it is definitely casual rather than smart and that's what the Duke was unhappy about.

The key issue seems to be the basis under which Chief Supt Short was attending the occasion. Chief constable Della Cannings says he was present as an operational officer and therefore operational uniform was appropriate. The Duke clearly felt it was not and that the officer's attire was in some way disrespectful.

However, it would appear different members of the royal family have different views. The chief constable said Prince Charles had not commented on the appearance of police officers when he recently visited the county. Or perhaps they do all feel similarly but the Duke of York is the only one prepared to make an issue of it. He has certainly inherited his father's reputation for plain speaking when the moment seizes him.

In future officers like David Short should be spared embarrassing situations like this. The Association of Chief Police Officers needs to establish a protocol with Buckingham Palace to avoid it happening again.