MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Charles and Wills to welcome Harry from Afghanistan

Prince Harry: Wild child turned war hero

The Prince of Wales and Prince William will greet Prince Harry on his return from Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer, who has been secretly fighting the Taliban in Helmand Province, is on a troop transport plane bound for RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire after an emergency extraction ordered by the Chief of Defence Staff. The exit, a major blow for Harry, came after a news blackout deal broke down on Thursday evening following leaks about his deployment on influential foreign websites. Harry was picked up at a grid reference in the desert where he had been on manoeuvre with a squadron of tanks and flown to a Nato base to join his flight home. In a statement released in the early hours, the Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that Prince Harry left Afghanistan earlier this evening (Friday). He is now on his way home to the United Kingdom." The Prince is said to be angered by the latest developments following the cancellation of his planned tour of duty in Iraq last year when his security was compromised by publicity. But he will receive a hero's welcome from the British public with tributes led by the Queen who said her grandson had performed "a good job in a very difficult climate". Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said: "This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier." Harry, a Blues and Royals "Cornet" or Second Lieutenant, has spent the past 10 weeks working as a battlefield air controller and Spartan reconnaissance vehicle commander across some of the troubled province's most dangerous spots. Now that he has been safely withdrawn it can be reported that until Friday night he was operating with a squadron of light tanks in the desert outside the former Taliban stronghold of Musa Qaleh.