Prince Harry, the youngest son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles and a tank commander in the British Army, will not be joining his regiment, The Blues and Royals, in Iraq this spring. Though the prince was hand picked by the head of the army for a six month tour of duty with an elite combat unit, the amount of press his imminent deployment has attracted has put his life, and those of his fellow soldiers, in jeopardy.
People is reporting that Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of General Staff, has rescinded his decision to deploy Harry, who is third in line to the British throne, because "There have been a number of specific threats, some reported,
and some not reported, which relate directly to Prince Harry as an
individual. These threats place not only him but also those around him
a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable. I know Prince Harry will
be extremely disappointed and his soldiers will miss his presence in
Iraq."
Somewhere, Princess Diana is smiling. No mother ever wants to send her baby off to war, and I'm sure she would be no exception. Though he must be disappointed, even Prince Harry must agree that it's safer for all involved if he wasn't there to attract attention to himself and his unit. Crisis averted. Now, how 'bout pulling some strings for the rest of those dudes?
