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LONDON - The regiment of Prince Harry looks set to be heading for Iraq and the third in line to the throne could be the first royal to see combat in 25 years.
Harry, who once sparked international outrage for wearing a Nazi uniform at a costume party, graduated from the elite Sandhurst military academy last year, saying he wanted to fight for his country as a frontline soldier.
With media speculation rife that the wish of the late Princess Diana's younger son could be granted, Defence Secretary Des Browne confirmed details of Britain's latest military deployments to Iraq would be announced on Friday.
The announcement comes a day after the government said it would be withdrawing almost a quarter of its 7,100 troops from Iraq in coming months. But British soldiers would remain in the country into 2008 if Iraq wanted them to provide support and training.
Pressed on whether Harry might be going to the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Browne told Sky television: "My position unequivocally about Prince Harry is that his deployment, his career in the army, is a matter entirely for the army."
"It's not a decision for me to comment on," he said.
Harry has always said he wanted to put his training into practice.
"There is no way I am going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country," the red-headed prince said in an interview to mark his 21st birthday.
"That may sound very patriotic, but it's true," said Harry, once dubbed a royal "wild child" for his underage drink and drugs antics.
There is a tradition of royals serving in the armed forces. Harry's uncle, the Duke of York, flew a helicopter in the Falkland's War in 1982 and his great-grandfather King George VI saw action in World War One.
Harry, who reportedly threatened to quit the army if not allowed to serve on the frontline, is serving in "A" squadron in the Blues and Royals regiment. He has trained to become a troop leader of an armoured reconnaissance unit.
Prince William is also in the Blues and Royals but is most unlikely to serve in a war zone because he is second-in-line to the throne.
Harry was roundly criticised in 2005 when he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party two weeks before his grandmother Queen Elizabeth led Holocaust memorial ceremonies. He later said it had been a "very stupid thing" to do.
He won worldwide sympathy as a forlorn 12-year-old boy walking head bowed behind his mother's coffin at her funeral in 1997.
- REUTERS
