PRINCE Harry has touched down in Britain to an ”enormously proud” father following his emergency withdrawal from combat in Afghanistan.

An aeroplane carrying Household Cavalry Officer Widow Six Seven landed at RAF Brize Norton at 11.29am.

Harry was one of about 170 troops returning home on the RAF Tristar troop transporter plane, and followed several dozen other soldiers who emerged into the Oxfordshire sunshine. He was chatting to a compatriot as they walked down the stairs.

Carrying a bulky kit bag slung over his soldier, the Prince walked across the tarmac to the terminal building where Prince Charles, his father, and Prince William, his older brother, were waiting.

Charles said he was “enormously proud” of Harry and said he now understood what families and loved ones endured when soldiers were serving abroad.

“As you can imagine it’s obviously a great relief to see him home in one piece,” he said.

However, he said he was “frustrated” that Harry had been forced to return home before his 14-week tour was complete, adding: “He had been looking forward to coming back with the rest of his regiment.”

Charles also paid tribute to other serving troops in “impossible conditions”.

“The fact they do this with incredible humour and dedication is extraordinary and so we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for performing their duty in this incredible way,” he said.

William then helped a smiling Harry load his kit into the back of an Audi estate before being driven away. It is believed they headed to Charles’ nearby country home at Highgrove.

William may be the next member of the Royal Family to see action, on board a warship.

He is currently learning to fly at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire and is later expected to serve in the Royal Navy, which has said it post him on board a deployed warship.

Harry, 23, was pulled out of the former Taleban stronghold of Musa Qaleh, in Northern Helmand province, hours after news of his deployment broke last week.

He was flown from the desert to a NATO base where he joined the flight home.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said: “This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier.”

The Prince had been commanding a seven-man Spartan vehicle team, part of a US and Afghan-led push to seize control of the village of Kariz de Baba in an effort to clear a route through to the Kajaki Dam, scene of some of the most intense fighting over the past two years.

He had previously been operating in the southernmost British position in Helmand - Forward Base Delhi - 500m from the Taleban front line, close to the town of Garmsir.

In his role as Forward Air Controller, he planned, rehearsed, and launched air attacks against enemy positions.

His curtailed ten-week tour of duty has drawn almost universal praise from Prime Minister Gordon Brown to fellow troops posting hundreds of messages of support on unoffical website, the British Army Rumour Service.

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