It is a relationship forged 40 years ago on Britain’s Salisbury Plain and the wilds of the Brecon Beacons.

As young men, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and the King of Malaysia met as officer cadets at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Surrey.

As this picture shows, the pair endured all the rigours of the exhaustive training regime as well as the odd moment of relaxation and levity.

Dressed in British combat fatigues, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces beams at the camera.

Sitting back on his rucksack or bergen, meanwhile, the Sultan of Pahang, Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who was officially installed as Malaysia’s 16th king yesterday, looks on a little more tentatively.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed offered his congratulations to the new King of Malaysia after attending his coronation in Kuala Lumpur.

The two friends have retained their common bond after passing out at the military college between 1979 and 1980.

Sheikh Mohamed was among the dignitaries who turned out in force for a coronation steeped in tradition in the Malaysian capital on July 30.