PRINCE Harry may be barred from serving with his men when his regiment is deployed to Iraq next year because of concerns for his safety.

Clarence House and the Ministry of Defence said yesterday there was official concern that the posting could pose an unacceptable risk to the Prince and those under his command. The same worries will arise when Prince William finishes at Sandhurst later this year.

Prince Harry, 21, who recently passed out from Sandhurst as a Second Lieutenant, has said that he intends to serve with his men wherever they are sent and was reported yesterday to have threatened to resign if he were not allowed on the front line.

But a defence source told The Times: “We can’t have a situation where Prince Harry’s presence draws enemy fire.” He said that the Army hierarchy faced a huge problem as Prince Harry’s unit, The Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, was set to go to Iraq next year. The MoD had a “duty of care” towards every member of the Armed Forces. If Prince Harry’s presence in an operational area attracted undue attention, “we will have to see what mechanics might be needed to deal with that”.

Clarence House said: “Prince Harry is very clear that he is joining the Army, and the Household Cavalry in particular, to serve his country as an operational soldier. On occasion, there may be some circumstances in which his overt presence might attract additional attention and increase the risk for his regiment and for himself. In these instances, it is a judgment call which would principally be made by his commanding officer.”

Prince Harry will soon start an intensive five-month training course at Bovington Camp in Dorset where he will learn to become a platoon commander of 11 soldiers for an armoured reconnaissance role. His publicly declared insistence on being with his men at all costs appeared previously to have been backed by the MoD.

Prince Harry said in an interview to mark his 21st birthday last year: “There’s no way I’m going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country . . . That may sound very patriotic but it’s true.”

Major-General Sebastian Roberts, commander of the Household Division, which includes the Household Cavalry, said last week that it was “eminently possible” that Prince Harry could be in a danger zone within 12 months. Defence sources said the Army hierarchy was trying to work out whether he should go with the squadron, stay behind or be appointed to a post at staff headquarters in Basra, in which capacity he would not go out on patrol.

The decision to allow Prince Harry and Prince William to attend Sandhurst and become officers in the infantry — Prince William is expected to join the Welsh Guards — has been regarded by a number of senior army officers as a high-risk strategy.

Being a frontline junior officer in Iraq poses significantly more risk than, for example, serving on board a Royal Navy ship. The Duke of York served as a Sea King helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands conflict, but while he faced the risks of battle like any other Serviceman, he was unlikely to be a personal target for Argentine forces. And while no one wants to overstate the risk of the princes being viewed as trophy targets by insurgents or terrorists in Iraq, officers say that the expected media attention could have dangerous consequences.

KING AND COUNTRY

The Prince of Wales never saw action as a Royal Navy officer

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