In 2006, the Ministry of Defence already gave Prince Harry the clearance to lead his regiment, the Blues and Royals, into the Iraqi warzone. But something came up, and MoD unexpectedly retracted its decision, sending the eager prince into a personal crisis. Thankfully, his older brother, Prince William, was there to convince Harry not to end his military career.
After having relentlessly trained and establishing camaraderie with his comrades, Prince Harry was naturally shocked after being abruptly told that he, the leader of his regiment, won’t be joining in the mission. In fact, it was probably one of the lowest points of the prince’s life that he would have quit the Army if not for Prince William’s intervention.
“William made it clear to Harry in no uncertain terms that he must not quit the Army,” royal biographer Duncan Larcombe wrote in his book “Prince Harry: The Inside Story.”
William reminded Harry of all the hardships he went through, which will be all for naught if he would quit his carrier. “He remained his brother of how hard he had worked to get through Sandhurst and complete his pre-deployment training with distinction,” the author wrote.
“William was of the view that if Harry quit he would undo all that he had achieved as a young officer and send a very bad signal to everyone,” he added. The author also said that William was worried about the potential effect that quitting the Army would have on Harry. “He even went as far as to say quitting would look as though he was spoilt and truculent, and urged Harry to bite his lip and carry on.”
As William suggested, Harry continued to serve the Army and only retired in 2015. “William is one of the few people Harry will really listen to,” Larcombe wrote, which suggests how the younger prince value the advice of his older brother.
The MoD, though, had valid reasons for previously canceling Prince Harry’s Iraq deployment. According to then-General Sir Richard Dannatt, who was the one who canceled the order, they were made aware of “specific threats which relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual” because his deployment became public knowledge.
The decision was also made in consideration of the increased threat that Prince Harry’s teammates will be facing if the prince were to fight alongside them. “That increased the threat to him but, most importantly, and this was the Queen and Prince of Wales’s point of view too, his presence would increase the threat to others,” Lord Dannatt added.
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