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Harry's war dream comes true
22/02/2007 16:31 - (SA)
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| An archive photo of the eight-year-old Prince Harry in 1993 when he visited the British troops in Germany with his mother, Princess Diana. (AP) |
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Anna Tomforde
London - Prince Harry, who will be sent to fight on the front line in Iraq this spring, has been infatuated with tanks, uniforms and helicopters since his childhood.
In 1993, as an eight-year-old, he was clearly in his element as he dressed up in a miniature combat suit and helmet, to be pictured waving from a tank hatch during a visit to British troops in Germany with his mother, the late Princess Diana.
Harry, now 22, left Eton school with less than brilliant academic results, but shone in the elite school's cadet corps.
He chose a career in the army, instead of going to university, and trained as an officer at the prestigious Sandhurst military academy, which he left in April, 2006.
His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, watched with pride as ginger-haired Harry threw her a glance during the passing-out parade.
Harry's love of parties, drink and girls has earned him a reputation as an enfant terrible among the royals.
They have frequently been embarrassed by his drink-fuelled scuffles with press photographers, occasional drug-taking, and dressing up in a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress ball.
But when it came to his military career, Harry, the "party prince," has always been deadly serious.
"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," Harry said in an interview marking his 21st birthday.
Troop Commander Wales
From the moment he left Sandhurst to join the regiment of the Blues and Royals as a Second Lieutenant, Harry has been pressing to serve on the front line.
His glamorous girlfriend of several years, Zimbabwe-born Chelsy Davy, said earlier this year that she would go on a world tour to distract her from Harry's Iraq assignment.
Troop Commander Wales, as Harry is known among his comrades in the armoured reconnaissance unit he is going to lead, had threatened to resign his commission if his superiors had prevented him from doing active service in Iraq or Afghanistan, reports said.
Harry, third in line to the throne, would be the first member of the royal family to join the battlefield since his uncle, Prince Andrew, served as a Royal Navy pilot in the 1982 Falklands War against Argentina.
- AP
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