The Sun's chief royal correspondent has been charged after allegedly paying £23,000 for stories relating to Sandhurst over a period where Prince William and Prince Harry had been training there.
Duncan Larcombe, 37, will face court alongside John Hardy, 43, who served as a Colour Sergeant at the Royal Military Training Academy, and his wife Claire Hardy, 39, the Crown Prosecution Service said today.
It is alleged that between February 10, 2006 and October 15, 2008, 34 payments were made to either John or Claire Hardy.
All three are to be charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
In a statement released by his solicitors later today, Mr Larcombe denied the charges.
It read: 'Mr Larcombe categorically denies any wrongdoing and is entirely confident that the matter will be resolved and he will be exonerated in full.
'He is extremely shocked and disappointed that he has been charged with this offence.
'Mr Larcombe is renowned within the industry as being an upright and trustworthy individual and fully expects to clear his name.'
Tracey Bell, 34, a Ministry of Defence employee, who worked as a pharmacy assistant at Sandhurst Medical Centre, has also been charged with one count of misconduct in public office.
It is alleged that the civil servant received £1,250 between October 17 2005 and July 7 2006 relating to five articles published in The Sun regarding matters at Sandhurst.
All these charges cover a period where the Royal princes were doing their officer training.
Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 and in April 2006 completed his officer's training.
William joined in January 2006 and graduated from Sandhurst in December 2006, a ceremony famously attended by The Queen, his father the Prince of Wales and his future wife Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge.
Allegations: The Queen inspects a smiling Prince William at his Sandhurst graduation in 2006, a period where The Sun's Royal Editor Duncan Larcombe is accused of paying for stories from inside the military training academy
Occasion: William's future wife Kate Middleton was also in the stands at Sandhurst with her mother Carole and a friend
The charges have come as a result of investigations under Operation Elveden, Scotland Yard's probe into alleged corrupt payments to public officials.
More...
Surrey police accused of 'collective amnesia' over hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone as report reveals force knew of claims TEN years ago but failed to act
Pleased: Prince Harry smiles broadly as his grandmother, the Queen, at his Passing Out
All four defendants are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 8.
Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced the charges, adding 'There is insufficient evidence to charge a second member of the public with any criminal offence.
'These decisions were considered carefully in accordance with the DPP's guidelines on the public interest in cases affecting the media,' she said.
'These guidelines require prosecutors to consider whether the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the overall criminality before bringing criminal proceedings.'
The charges come as a former Surrey police officer today became the latest person to be arrested under Operation Elveden, which is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and is running in conjunction with phone-hacking inquiry Operation Weeting.
The 41-year-old man was arrested at 6am this morning at his home in Sussex on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, Scotland Yard said.
The arrest was the 62nd under Operation Elveden. Of those arrested so far, 13 people, including four former police officers, seven journalists and two other public officials, have or will face court action.
Allegations: The alleged payments have been linked to stories and individuals from the Sandhurst Academy (pictured)
Last week Sun executive editor Fergus Shanahan, 58, from Dunmow in Essex, was charged with conspiring with a public official and a journalist to commit misconduct in a public office after allegedly authorising a journalist to make payments to a public official.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 8.