Prince Harry is to be told that he will see no more war-fighting, at least for the next 18 months, and that his complaint about food on the front line is unjustified.

The only good news for the returning soldier-prince is that he is guaranteed promotion next month, after completing two years in the Army, and will receive a £5,000 rise in salary. As for his dislike of the boil-in-the-bag food he had to put up with while serving in the field in southern Afghanistan, there was no official enthusiasm for his call to bring in Jamie Oliver to do for army food what he tried to do with school menus.

The Ministry of Defence said that field rations had to be practical and it was not possible to have too many variations. The rations had been developed, an official said, to provide nutritional balance, with the required amount of calories.

Sausage and beans is as close as he is going to get to his much-quoted desire to have bangers and mash in gravy. The MoD pointed out that back at base camp in Afghanistan, the food provided was fresh and there was more choice.

The secret of Widow Six Seven

American pilots, Afghan soldiers and Taleban fighters - all unaware that third in line to the throne was in their midst

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• Pictures: Prince Harry in Helmand

• Video: Harry on the front line

• Video: Harry explains his job

BACKGROUND

• The day Grandma told me I'd be going to war

• Full text of Prince Harry interview in Afghanistan

• Full text of Prince Harry interview given pre-departure

Related Links

• It may not be gourmet but there is some choice

After his return to Britain the Prince, a second-lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, has made much of his desire to go back to the front line as soon as possible. After a Taleban commander claimed yesterday that it had been known in late December or early January that “an important chicken” had joined the British troops in Afghanistan and was being hunted, however, Harry’s return to Helmand province has been ruled out for the immediate future and possibly for ever.

The threat to his life also underlines how slim the chance is of Prince William being allowed a similar Afghan experience. General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, said yesterday: “I think what Prince William does or does not do is a completely separate issue and must be looked at again on a case-by-case basis.”

Mullah Abdul Karim, described as a veteran Taleban commander, told Newsweek that he ordered his men to capture Harry and kill him. Speaking from Helmand province, he claimed that his men had reported sightings of Prince Harry’s armoured convoy but had never been close to their target.

The Prince was made fully aware of the dangers of serving in Afghanistan, not only while he was in Helmand province but also on his return to Britain on an aircraft that was carrying two wounded soldiers, one of whom had lost an arm and leg. The MoD said that they had been injured in a mine incident near Kajaki in central Helmand. The ministry would not identify either soldier.

Denying all the reports that he was a hero, Prince Harry said: “Those are the heroes. Those were guys who had been blown up by a mine that they had no idea about, serving their country, doing a normal patrol.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Smyth-Osbourne, commanding officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment, who is due to meet Prince Harry soon, is expected to tell the Prince that he wants to keep him as a forward air controller after his ten-week deployment in Helmand province in that role, which gives the 23-year-old a glimmer of hope that his services may be required again on an overseas mission.

His role was to pinpoint Taleban positions for ground-attack aircraft. Afghanistan is currently the only overseas mission where such a function is required on a daily basis. Colonel Smyth-Osbourne is expected to advise Harry of his career prospects before he goes on three weeks’ operational leave. General Dannatt has said that Harry has a number of regimental duties ahead of him and that there is no chance of him being drafted overseas in the next 12-18 months.

Next month, after completing two years in the Army, Harry will be promoted to a full lieutenant and his salary will rise from £23,475 to £28,216. His brother is already a full lieutenant in the Army because he went to the Royal Academy Sandhurst as a graduate.

Asked if he feared that his fighting days were over, Harry said: “I hope not. I hope that this has now been proven and that the system can work and the British press go along with the deal, everything in place has proved that it can actually work. So I don’t see why it can’t happen again.”

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