The Daily Mirror is reporting that Princess Diana’s youngest son, 22-year-old Prince Harry, is set to go to Iraq very soon. It is believed that the Defense Secretary Des Browne will make the announcement on February 26th. The royal family has not made a comment on the report and the Defense Ministry had said it was speculative earlier today, but CNN is reporting that a British Military source is saying he will indeed go to war.
Prince Harry graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006. He is known by the 11 soldiers he commands as Troop Commander Wales. His regiment, the Blues and Royals (how appropriate!) are responsible for four Scimitar tanks.
Prince Harry has been said to be actively seeking to go to war since he received his commission. In 2005, he was quoted as saying “There’s no way I’m going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country.”
There has been much speculation as to whether he would actually go to war or not. The Defense Ministry had said he would go if his unit was deployed, but then back tracked a bit, saying he might not if his being there would jeopardize his soldiers. After all, what better target for the terrorists to shoot at than third in line to the British throne?
If he does go, it is expected he will arrive in Iraq sometime in April or May, near the rest of his regiment in Basra, Iraq. The royal family has a tradition of serving in the British military. Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, was in the Royal Navy. His father, Prince Charles, was a pilot in the Royal Air Force and Navy. Uncle (Prince) Andrew also was a pilot in the Royal Navy, serving in the Falklands war against Argentina.
The Brits do not have to worry about Prince William. Although he too is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and is training to be a troop leader for the Blues and Royals, as second in line to the British crown, he cannot be deployed to a war zone.