How Prince Harry’s military career makes him a hardcore noble

Eric Milzarski
Feb 5, 2020 7:00 PM PST
1 minute read
Afghanistan War photo

SUMMARY

Many veterans chose the military life in search of something bigger than themselves. This rings true even for British royalty. Just like his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, his father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William, Prince Harr…

Many veterans chose the military life in search of something bigger than themselves. This rings true even for British royalty. Just like his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, his father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William, Prince Harry served in the British military — except his war stories from Afghanistan are far more impressive than most royals.


Prince Harry entered military service in September 2004 and went to The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005. During his 44-week intensive training, he went under the name "Officer Cadet Wales" since royal British surnames don't work like regular folk and he didn't want any special treatment — despite the fact that everyone at the academy swore loyalty to his badass grandmother.

In case you didn't know, he's got badassery in his blood.

(War Archives)

After graduating in April 2006, he became an armored reconnaissance troop leader in a unit scheduled to deploy to Iraq. When Defense Secretary John Reid stopped him from deploying, Prince Harry is quoted as saying

"If they said 'no, you can't go front line' then I wouldn't drag my sorry ass through Sandhurst and I wouldn't be where I am now."

Prince Harry didn't just accept this order. He was determined to fight with his brothers and lead his troops. He finally got that chance in June 2007 when he was secretly allowed to deploy to Helmond Province, Afghanistan as a forward air controller — similar to the American joint terminal attack controller.

Even his living conditions were on par with his fellow soldiers.

(The Royal Family YouTube)

When his unit and his Gurkha allies were attacked by the Taliban, Prince Harry himself jumped on the .50 cal to hold the line. He successfully repelled the attack all while the Britons back home knew nothing.

Prince Harry returned to England in May 2008 and began his training as an Apache pilot — as is an unofficial tradition among the House of Windsor — and he was damn good. He returned to Afghanistan, now as "Captain Wales." The Taliban leaders got wind of his return and called for his head. That didn't scare this badass and his missions were more ramped up.

In true veteran fashion, he was straight out of f*cks to give.

(The Royal Family YouTube)

He returned to England with an untold number of combat missions under his belt (but, supposedly, there were a lot). He left active military service in 2015 but he continues to champion the military and veteran community through his countless organizations. He launched the Invictus Games in 2014 and has been a key figure of Walk With the Wounded, HALO Trust, and London Marathon Charitable Trust.

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