Prince Harry secretly serving on Afghanastan front line

Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, has been secretly serving with the British military in Afghanistan since December.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed the 23-year-old royal's role Thursday after the news of his deployment appeared on the U.S.-based Drudge Report Web site.

The prince had been scheduled to serve in Iraq last May, but the enormous amount of publicity in the British media that attended this possibility raised concerns in the military that the prince would be singled out as a target by the enemy, endangering him and the troops around him.

Harry, who was educated at Sandhurst, Britain's elite military school, expressed his disappointment, but did not resign from the military.

After the story quieted down, Harry continued to push for a combat role and the Ministry of Defense quietly negotiated an agreement with British news organizations to refrain from publicizing any future deployments of the prince.

When it was decided that Harry could serve in Afghanistan, he was told the news by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Since mid-December, Harry has been serving in Helmand province as a forward air controller for frontline troops. Accounts in the British press said the prince has been "personally involved" in clashes with Taliban guerrillas, but did not claim that the prince had been exposed to enemy fire.

"His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary," said Gen. Richard Dannatt, the army's chief of staff. "He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his battle group."

Dannatt said he was "very disappointed that foreign Web sites have decided to run this story without consulting us."

Now that Harry's role in Afghanistan has been made public, his continued presence there may be reconsidered, Dannatt said.

Following the disclosure Thursday of the prince's combat role, British newspapers were free to run a pool interview that was conducted in December right before his deployment.

Asked his reaction to news that he would be going to Afghanistan, the prince replied, "A bit of excitement, a bit of 'Phew, finally get the chance to actually do the soldiering I wanted to do ever since I joined.'"

The prince said that once in Afghanistan, he did not feel he would be treated differently than any other soldier.

"I think dressed in the same uniform as numerous other people, thousands of other people in Afghanistan will give me one of the best chances to be just a normal person: with a helmet on, with a shemagh [scarf], with goggles on, whatever," he said.

He also said he was satisfied that his presence would not jeopardize the safety of other soldiers.

"I don't think it's putting anybody at risk at all. I think going along with the plan at the moment, if I can get out there without anyone actually making it public, which is basically what's happening at the moment with the deal that's being made with numerous papers, things are looking up," he said.

"I would never want to put someone else's life in danger when they have to sit next to the bullet magnet," he added. "But if I'm wanted, if I'm needed, then I will serve my country as I signed up to do."

Along with the release of the interview Thursday came a deluge of photos of Harry on patrol in Helmand, Harry in a bunker, Harry with his weapon. Much of this seemed designed to counteract the prince's image as a frivolous party boy who once went to a costume party in a Nazi uniform.

Harry, the youngest son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, is not the first royal to see combat. His uncle, Prince Andrew, was a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands war.

Harry's older brother, Prince William, second in line to the throne, also graduated from Sandhurst, but has not been considered for a combat role.