PRINCE HARRY is to be sent to Iraq in May with his armoured reconnaissance squadron while his older brother is kept away from war-fighting.

The deployment of his squadron and Harry’s part in it are set to be confirmed by Des Browne, the defence secretary, in the Commons in the next two weeks.

Harry is insistent that he should not be kept from joining his Household Cavalry unit on its mission. However, Prince William, as the firstborn son of the Prince of Wales, will not be put in harm’s way because of the risk of having a future king killed in battle.

A meeting of the regimental council of the Household Cavalry will be held on Friday to formalise arrangements for its deployment as part of 1 Mecha-nised Brigade, sources said this weekend.

But amid fears that Harry’s presence will make him a “trophy target” for insurgents, senior defence sources said he may be kept back at British headquarters rather than with the bulk of his unit patrolling the Iranian border.

The precise details of Harry’s role have been the subject of extensive discussions between the Ministry of Defence, army chiefs and Clarence House, Prince Charles’s office.

Clarence House would only say last week it was “awaiting a final decision on deployment”. But privately officials confirmed Harry, known as Cornet Wales, would be going.

Members of the royal circle said they fully expected Harry to go. One courtier said: “There is a desire for him to do what he’s trained to do.”

William, by contrast, who joined the army months after his brother, is unlikely to see fighting in his army career under the traditional “heir and spare” arrangement, in which a prince directly in line to the throne is kept out of action. He will begin training at Bovington camp, Dorset, next month.

This convention was followed by Charles, who was kept away from the most dangerous postings during his career in the Royal Navy. His brother Prince Andrew, by contrast, saw action in the Falklands in 1982.

While the courtiers accept Harry’s specific role in Iraq is up to his commanders, they fully expect him to be kept away from the front.

Harry, who is third in line to the throne behind Charles and William, reportedly warned before he joined the Blues and Royals (a regiment of the Household Cavalry) that if prevented from going on operations he would quit.

While senior officers believe it is essential that he be allowed to deploy with his men if he is to retain their respect, they have balked at allowing him to go out on continuous patrol.

As a reconnaissance troop commander, he would normally be in charge of four Scimitar light tanks with only a troop sergeant-major to advise him on what to do.

The solution of keeping him back at headquarters is seen as a compromise, protecting him from excessive danger while still allowing him to go to Iraq.

“The problem is that although everyone wants to see him go, his obvious and overt presence might attract attention that could increase the risk to those he commands as well as to himself,” a senior officer said.

The situation in Maysan province, where the Blues and Royals are expected to be posted, is dangerous. When a Hercules C130 aircraft crashed there last week, it was blown up because it was deemed too risky to try to recover and repair it.

British troops have pulled out of the main town of Amarah amid continued disputes with the local people, and the area is seen as a hotbed of criminality.

British commanders have wanted to hand it over to the Iraqi authorities for some time but, at American insistence, continue to patrol the border to prevent Iranian Revolutionary Guards smuggling in bomb-mak-ing equipment for the insurgents.

The Blues and Royals were formed in 1969 from a merger of the Royal Horse Guards, who were known as “the Blues” and the Royal Dragoons, “the Royals”. The Royal Horse Guards trace their history back to a force raised by Oliver Cromwell.

Part of the regiment is based in London while other units are in Windsor.

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