LONDON (AFP) - Prince Harry, whom the British government said Thursday has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan for the last 10 weeks, is the first British royal to see active military service in nearly 26 years.
His uncle, Prince Andrew, was a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter pilot during the Falklands War in 1982, flying sorties from the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, including as a decoy to Argentinian Exocet missiles.
At 22, Andrew was a year younger than Harry when he was sent to the South Atlantic Ocean and there were concerns expressed at the time about allowing him to go to the front line.
But his mother, Harrys grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, insisted he should be allowed to remain with the British taskforce despite the risks.
Harry said in an interview with Britians domestic Press Association news agency to have been published after his return that the queen told him personally that he was to be sent to the volatile Helmand Province.
"She was very pro me going then so I think she I think shes relieved that I get the chance to do what I want to do," said Harry, a second lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry.
Harry had been due to be deployed to Iraq in 2007, but military top brass performed an about-turn after considering media publicity made him and his comrades a target for insurgents.
He retrained from his previous role as a Scimitar light tank troop leader as a battlefield air controller known as a JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) with a view to going to Afghanistan.
Harry flew out on December 14, spending several weeks in Garmsir, in the far south of Helmand Province, operating just 500 metres from front-line Taliban positions.
He has since left Garmsir to work in another part of Helmand Province, details of which can not be reported for security reasons.
Harry follows a long line of royals to see active service.
The queens husband, Prince Philip, served throughout World War II and rose to the rank of commander before the death of his father-in-law, king George VI, cut short his career when his wife became queen.
George VI was the first of the modern royals -- and the only sovereign since king William IV in the 18th century -- to see action in battle.
As prince Albert, George VI fought as a sub-lieutenant on board the battleship Collingwood in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 during World War I.
The government barred his brother, the prince of Wales -- later king Edward VIII -- from fighting in the conflict as he was the heir to the throne.
British royalty and the military go hand-in-hand.
Senior royals all hold honorary posts within both the British army, navy and Royal Air Force and throughout the Commonwealth.
The queen herself spent time in uniform during World War II, serving with the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945 at the age of 18 while on National Service.
She reached the rank of junior commander, passing out as a fully-qualified driver.
The queens eldest son and Harrys father, Prince Charles, trained to be a pilot with the RAF. He received his "wings" in 1971 and signed up to the Royal Navy.
Her youngest son, Prince Edward, did not have as successful a time with the military: he joined the Royal Marines but dropped out in 1987 having failed to achieve a rank.
Harrys elder brother, Prince William, also trained in the Blues and Royals regiment but as the future king is unlikely to see action. He recently began training as a pilot with the RAF.
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