Prince Harry begged: 'Let me stay'

PRINCE Harry pleaded to stay in Afghanistan and was “bitterly disappointed” after the Army flew him home last night over fears he is now a Taliban target.

By Richard Palmer, Royal Correspondent

Harry Wanted to complete tour of duty Harry: Wanted to complete tour of duty

Military chiefs ordered his immediate removal from the lawless Helmand province because worldwide media coverage of his combat role could put his life and the lives of his men at risk.

The third-in-line to the throne was on his way home, via a refuelling stop in the Gulf, after his secret 10-week deployment fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan was disclosed.

A US website, the Drudge Report, broke a news blackout over Harry’s deployment which had been agreed between the Ministry of Defence and British and international media.

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He is bitterly disappointed that he wasn’t able to complete his tour of duty

An Army source

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An Army source said yesterday: “He is bitterly disappointed that he wasn’t able to complete his tour of duty.

“He wanted to stay but he just has to accept the decision his military commanders have made.”

Harry, 23, who is expected to be reunited with his family and girlfriend Chelsy Davy this weekend, now faces an uncertain future in the Army.

The Household Cavalry officer has said he would like to spend his career in the forces. But defence experts and senior Whitehall figures yesterday doubted he could fulfill that ambition.

Sources said it was difficult to see how the Prince, hailed as a natural soldier by his comrades, can spend up to 40 years in the services if constant security fears make it impossible for him to spend time on active service abroad.

One said: “I think the knee-jerk reaction is that this is it. This was his one chance to serve in a war zone and it’s all ruined now for him and for Prince William in the future.”

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         SEE OUR PRINCE HARRY PICTURE GALLERY

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His future in the forces will now be discussed in detail over the next few days by senior MoD officials and the Royal Household.They are aware that even if Harry were sent on peacekeeping duties to, for example, Kosovo or Africa, he would always be a target.

The young Prince has made it clear he would prefer to be on the front line than back in Britain. He had hoped he could return to Afghanistan this summer but that now seems unlikely.

Harry, a second lieutenant – or Cornet – in the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals, is the first Royal to see combat since his uncle, the Duke of York, was involved in the 1982 Falklands conflict.

He is now in line to receive a medal for his role in Afghanistan. Harry is set to be awarded the Operational Service Medal and an MoD spokesman said it was expected he would receive it with the rest of his regiment.

Yesterday the Queen, who supported the decision for him to go to Afghanistan, paid tribute to her grandson. On a tour of a care home in Windsor she spoke to Second World War veteran John Cooke, 81.

When Mr Cooke, a former Grenadier Guard and paratrooper, sent his congratulations to Harry, the Queen said: “Yes, Harry is doing a good job in a very difficult climate.”

Brigadier Andrew Mackay, Commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said last night: “The decision to withdraw Harry from operations was one that was not made lightly and was given very careful consideration.

“At the time of the decision Harry was deployed in the field, conducting operations against the Taliban, and we therefore had to consider not just the consequences for him personally but those that he was serving alongside.”

He said Harry had flourished in the demanding environment, doing a tough job that required “an individual of cool nerve, mental agility and an ability to make critical decisions in the heat of battle”.

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