Subscribe
Clarence House and Britain’s Ministry of Defence issued a joint statement today regarding the much-speculated deployment of Prince Harry (known as Cornet Wales in the Army) to Iraq. I quote the entirety of the announcement from Prince Charles’ websitebelow:
We can confirm today that Prince Harry will deploy to Iraq later this year in command of a troop from ‘A Squadron’ of the Household Cavalry Regiment.
Whilst in Iraq Cornet Wales will carry out a normal troop commander’s role, involving leading a troop of 12 men in four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three.
The decision to deploy him has been a military one, made by The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, in conjunction with Cornet Wales’ commanding officer. The Royal Household has been consulted throughout.
Speculation about precisely where Cornet Wales will serve, or the exact details of his role, is potentially dangerous. The Ministry of Defence and Clarence House are writing to ask all media organisations to respect this matter of operational security in order that Cornet Wales can undertake a normal tour of duty, which is his express wish and that of the Army.
This is what Prince Harry was trained for, and this is what he wants. He has been rumored to have threatened to leave the Army if he was prevented from joining his men, wherever their deployment would have been. It’s not the first time that a member of the royal family has served in active combat. Prince Andrew served in the Falklands war in 1982.
The statement about Prince Harry’s deployment comes on the heels of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s announcement the Britain will withdraw 1,600 troops from Iraq in the next months.
Good luck, Prince Harry. Keep safe!
Tags: royalty, British royals, Prince Harry, Cornet Wales
[...] Harry is due to join the British forces in Iraq for a six-month tour starting next month. In advance of his deployment, various people in the media [...]