Harry could fight in Iraq
2006-04-12 15:20
Camberley - Britain's Prince
Harry, once dubbed a royal wild child for underage drink and
drug antics, graduated as an army officer on Wednesday before
joining a regiment that could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The third in the line to the throne passed out at the elite
Sandhurst military academy before his grandmother, Queen
Elizabeth, at a colourful ceremony rich in military tradition.
A sombre-faced Harry marched with sword in hand across the
parade ground to start his military career and stood to
attention, back ramrod straight and eyes to the front, as his
grandmother inspected the cadets.
Officer Cadet Wales now becomes a Second Lieutenant in the
Household Cavalry and will train to become a troop commander in
charge of 11 men and four light tanks in an armed reconnaissance
unit. That could mean his serving in conflict zones.
Harry, whose mother Princess Diana died in a Paris car crash
when he was just 12 years old, has insisted he wants a frontline
role in the British Army.
"There is no way I am going to put myself through Sandhurst
and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting
for their country," he said in an interview to mark his 21st
birthday last September.
Patriotic, but true
"That may sound very patriotic but it's true," added the
red-haired prince whose elder brother William is also training
at Sandhurst to become an army officer.
Despite the best efforts of courtiers to groom his image,
Harry has more often than not hit the headlines for the wrong
reasons.
He dabbled in marijuana and under-age drinking as a
17-year-old. In response, his father Prince Charles sent him to
a drug rehabilitation clinic in London for a day to give him a
glimpse of the dangers of drug abuse.
Since then, Harry has scuffled with paparazzi outside a
London club and sparked outrage by dressing as a Nazi officer at
a party. He apologised afterwards for the offence he caused.
His girlfriend Chelsy Davy has flown in from Cape Town to
attend a Sandhurst ball on Wednesday evening but she may have
some frosty words for the "wild child" - Harry and fellow
cadets were said to have celebrated graduation last week by
visiting a strip club.
Britain's Royal Family has a long tradition of serving in
the armed forces and Harry's Uncle, Prince Andrew, was a
helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina.
The Household Cavalry, made up of the Life Guards and the
Blues and Royals, offers some intriguing royal connections.
Andrew Parker Bowles, who served with the Blues and Royals,
was known as Britain's most famous cuckold when his wife Camilla
was the mistress of heir to the throne Charles. Camilla and
Charles finally married last year after a 35-year romance.
James Hewitt, who had an affair with Harry's mother Diana,
spent 17 years with the Life Guards and saw action during the
first Gulf War.
- Reuters