Did Prince Harry get special treatment in the army? Prince Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, has long been known for his military service.
Joining the British Army in 2005, he undertook various roles and deployments. However, there has been much speculation and debate surrounding whether Prince Harry received special treatment during his time in the army.
Some argue that his status as a royal family member may have afforded him certain privileges and exemptions that other soldiers could not access.
You are in the right place if you are also wondering about the same. Here, we’ll discuss in detail and determine whether the prince received any special treatment during his service. Stick around to the end to find out.
Did Prince Harry Get Special Treatment In The Army?
Harry and the royal family insist he received no special treatment in the British Military. He served two tours in Afghanistan, and his military career started in secret, which adds to him having had a regular time there.
He went to the battlefield and completed his time in the Army after a decade without any evidence of him getting special treatment owing to his stature.
All the Details of Prince Harry’s Military Career
There are many photos of Prince Harry wearing a Military uniform, and most assume it’s ceremonial.
You might be surprised to learn it, but members of the Royal family sometimes end up in the Military. It is the ultimate show of patriotism; no one showed this better than Prince Harry.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, spent ten years in the British Royal Army, including two tours in Afghanistan. In 2015, he retired from the Army. Prince Harry has called his time in the army “the happiest time of my life.”
Military duty was a gesture of kindness for Prince Harry, echoing his mother, Princess Diana’s, life philosophy. Escapism and rebellion were sprinkled throughout.
And now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a new Netflix docuseries depicting their split from the Royal Family, fans are eager for additional information about the power couple, such as Prince Harry’s military experience.
With the Netflix docuseries; Harry & Meghan, out now, discover everything there is to know about Prince Harry’s military career.
Prince Harry in Afghanistan
Prince Harry had a regular time in the Military; he just joined at a time that wasn’t too bloody. Regardless, he was on the frontlines and served two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army.
Harry recalls his military career in the third episode of the new Netflix docuseries: “Two tours in Afghanistan, flying Apache helicopters on a military base, means that you grow up pretty fast.” “Jeez, I’ve been to war twice.”
Afghanistan was most likely reasonably similar for Prince Harry as it was for other troops. Harry and the Royal Family were adamant that he not be treated differently. Harry completed two secret tours in Afghanistan.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst provided Prince Harry with a 44-week officer cadet training course. He was known as Officer Cadet Wales there. He was commissioned as an army officer and joined the Blues and Royals.
Soon after, in 2006, Prince Harry was set to deploy to Iraq. The Ministry of Defense eventually shielded him from the Iraq war.
At the time, there were rumors that Harry was a high-profile target that enemy troops were eager to engage with.
Harry publicly stated that if he were to receive preferential treatment and be forced to stay at home while his unit went to war, he would leave the Army entirely.
With Prince Harry in the Army, however, factions on the ground would be eager to go to any length to harm him. As a result of the threats to his safety, Prince Harry was ultimately barred from serving in Iraq.
Prince Harry never concealed his dissatisfaction with the choice to keep him safe. He was stationed in Canada the following year to train alongside forces at CFB Suffield in preparation for a possible deployment to Afghanistan.
A media leak indicated that Prince Harry had been secretly deployed to Afghanistan, where he had served for ten weeks before the public announcement, not long after training at the facility near Alberta.
Harry served two deployments in Afghanistan, from 2007 to 2008 and again from 2012 to 2013. During his first tour, he was assigned to patrol dangerous areas and even assisted in repelling Taliban insurgents.
Prince Harry, Helicopter Pilot
Prince Harry was a pilot in the Army for most of his time, making him a crucial asset. Air superiority is vital for most Western armies, so helicopter, jet, and drone pilots play a significant role in military operations.
Prince Harry attended RAF Shawbury’s Defence Helicopter Flying School after his first tour in Afghanistan.
He was promoted to captain and given the Apache Flying Badge. His helicopter training occurred in the United States, specifically in California and Arizona.
Though many members of the Royal Family and the Ministry of Defense sought to safeguard Prince Harry, military service was something he never gave up. Harry served from Camp Bastion during his second tour to Afghanistan.
He would stay for four months despite direct and public threats to his life from Taliban leadership.
He is one of the most outstanding Military presences of all members of ruling and royal families across the globe, boosting his popularity.
He equated his helicopter gunship abilities to those he learned from video games, telling the Guardian, “With my thumbs, I like to think I’m probably quite useful.”
Many photographs of Prince Harry in ceremonial attire show him wearing military medals. Harry is the proud owner of the Afghanistan Service Medal and the Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilee awards.
Harry also sports a KCVO Star. This medal marks the Royal Victorian Order and honors personal service to the British Commonwealth monarch.
Why Doesn’t Prince Harry Wear His Military Uniform Anymore?
You will have difficulty finding recent pictures of Prince Harry in military attire because his titles were stripped.
So why was Prince Harry stripped of his military titles? This happened because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle split from the Royal Family.
While Prince Harry in military uniform is a sight to behold, he surrendered his right to be seen in uniform by leaving the palace. Their choice to depart from official royal activities in 2020 designated them as non-working royals.
Prince Harry was allowed to put on his medals for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, burial in September 2022, but it was unclear if he would wear his military uniform.
According to the palace’s official statement, the Royal Family decided not to have anyone wear military uniforms, but rather “morning coat with medals or day dress.”
The Invictus Games, a Paralympic-inspired sporting tournament for wounded service veterans, was launched by Prince Harry in 2014. Harry was honest about how inspired he’d been by injured service veterans and how he wanted to do something to give back.
The Invictus Games have been staged in a variety of cities over the years, with the first taking place in London on September 8-14, 2014.
Royal Family Military Service
Prince Harry was not the first prince to join the Army; the British Royal Family has a lengthy legacy of military service.
Many Monarchs in recent history and the past have stepped up and joined the Army, and Harry was continuing a standing tradition.
Prince William, Prince Harry’s older brother, was a British Army officer who graduated from the Royal Air Force College Cranwell in 2008 and worked as an air ambulance pilot for two years.
In total, Prince William served in the Military for over seven years. In the 1970s, Prince Harry’s father, King Charles III of England, served in both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.
He flew helicopters from the HMS Hermes and eventually became the HMS Bronington’s commander. King Charles is now the British Military’s recognized commander-in-chief.
While both of Prince Harry’s parents had military ties, his mother did not serve. During her marriage to Prince Charles, Princess Diana had honorary military titles such as Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess of Wales’s Own Regiment and Honorary Air Commodore at RAF Wittering.
Later in her life, she became involved in the anti-landmine movement. Diana traveled to Angola to meet with landmine victims and finally helped pave the path for treaties prohibiting their usage.
Prince Harry’s grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, also served in the British Military. She enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service at 18 in 1944.
The ATS was the British Army’s women’s division. Queen Elizabeth trained as an ATS mechanic, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to serve full-time on active duty.
Conclusion
Did Prince Harry get special treatment in the army? It is clear that Prince Harry did not receive special treatment in the army.
Despite his royal status, Prince Harry underwent the same rigorous training and served in combat zones like any other soldier.
He was deployed twice to Afghanistan, which further exemplifies his active involvement in military operations. Instead of continuing a life of privilege and comfort, he pursued a more independent path.
