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After months of debate surrounding the future direction of Prince Harry's army career, the Mail on Sunday
is claiming that the third-in-line to the throne has been told he will
be 'banned' from joining his regiment on the front line in Afghanistan
if his platoon are sent to the war zone.
Now in the latter stages of his training before his finally joins his regiment, the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, Harry has already admirably declared that he's determined to follow his colleagues into battle, famously 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."
According to the Mail report, the decision is yet to be formally acknowledged, but the general consensus within the hierarchy of both the army and Palace is that it would be too dangerous for the third-in-line to the throne to be deployed to Afghanistan.
The Mail recalls Harry's comment earlier this year in which he was said to have told senior officers: "If I am not allowed to join my unit in a war zone, I will hand in my uniform."
However, British and allied forces in the country have suffered huge casualties, with 41 British soldiers dying in the Afghan conflict in the past five months alone. The fears are that, as previously reported, Harry could be targeted for kidnap or worse by Taliban insurgents, possibly putting his whole platoon in increased danger.
The Prince who is reported to have said he'll quit the army if he can't serve on the frontline is reported to be unhappy at the decision to keep him away from the action, a regimental source telling the Mail on Sunday: "Harry is not happy at the situation. He wants to deploy, he loves the Army and now that he will not be able to go, it has really upset him. Harry is a great bloke and his lads love him, and they will not be happy if he doesn’t go."
The paper also quotes a senior cavalry officer as saying of the Prince: "Second Lieutenant Wales is an officer in a very famous regiment and we would like to see him deploy. It would do wonders for his soldiers and the morale of the regiment and the British Army, but we must respect that he is a member of the Royal Family."
"The fact is that his Royal appointment could make him a target and put the lives of his soldiers in danger and while he will regret the decision I know he will appreciate and understand the thinking and evaluation behind it."
"The threat in Helmand is high, and even if Harry sat in the headquarters in Kandahar he would face regular rocket attacks. We must respect that the best decision for the time being is that he does not deploy. If the situation on the ground changes we can always review fresh options."
Despite today's report, the Ministry of Defence is yet to confirm that Harry won't be allowed to serve on the frontline in Afghanistan, saying only: "The intention is that Prince Harry will play as full a part as he can during his Army career, including participating in operations and exercises. The decision whether or not to deploy the Prince on an operation would be made at the point when his unit were formally scheduled to deploy."
"The recommendation on the Household Cavalry Regiment would come from General Officer Commanding London District, Major-General Sebastian Roberts."
A similar line is taken by Clarence House, a spokesperson telling the Mail: "As far as we’re concerned, no decisions have been made and no formal recommendation has been made to us. Prince Harry has made it very clear that he would very much like to serve if he possibly can."
Clearly, if the headline is proven to be true — the reality is that it's unlikely a young man who is the grandson of the Queen as well as the son and brother of future Kings will ever be allowed to engage in the wars of today in which kidnap and filmed executions are favoured weapons against the allied forces — the Prince is set to be disappointed by the decision of the military top brass, one which has likely been decided with not a little input from the Palace hierarchy.
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