Harry quits the Army
He now plans to do charity work abroad with veterans
PRINCE HARRY is to leave the armed forces within six months to pursue charity work with injured service personnel.
The captain in the Blues and Royals is expected to spend much of the next year in Australia, New Zealand and Africa, where he has links with charities.
Senior royal sources said Harry, 30, was at a ‘crossroads’ in his military career.
‘Although the military will always be a huge part of his life, he is at a point when he needs to make significant decisions about his career and the prince believes he can best serve the charities he wants to work with, particularly those helping service personnel, as a civilian,’ said one.
It is clear to many who work with Harry that he has been struggling to find a suitable long-term military role since returning from Afghanistan that can be combined with the causes close to his heart.
Kensington Palace declined to comment yesterday on reports of his decision to quit because the fine details are still being worked through.
The Mail understands, however, that he
‘Little appetite to rise up the ranks’
is likely to leave by the end of the summer. Before then he will spend several weeks with the military in Australia as well as representing the UK, along with his father, Prince Charles, at the 100th anniversary Anzac Day commemorations in Gallipoli.
Last year Harry devised and organised the Invictus Games, a remarkable Paralympics-style event for wounded servicemen and women which attracted 400 competitors from 13 nations and was lauded as an unqualified success.
Despite that, some senior royal commentators question the wisdom of leaving the forces – which have given the once wayward prince so much direction in his life.
Many believe Prince Andrew’s decision to leave the Royal Navy in 2001, where he had a distinguished career, caused some of the problems that have recently dogged him.
When Prince Harry leaves the Army, the Royal Family will have no senior members on full-time active military service.
Harry has served twice on the frontline in Afghanistan since graduating from Sandhurst in May 2005. He was first sent out as a forward air controller in 2007 after his wish to serve in the infantry was deemed too dangerous to both himself and his men.
The angry prince was forced to return early from the posting when an American website broke the news blackout on his deployment. He then retrained with the Army Air Corps and was picked to fly the Apache attack helicopter. He returned to Afghanistan in 2012.
He left last year to take up a Staff Officer role in London to work on his plan to bring the Invictus Games to Britain. His move to the capital brought him back to his then girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. But when the romance ended, he realised he had little appetite to progress up the ranks.
He is now focused on working for the Ministry of Defence’s recovery capability programme. It involves working alongside case officers in London’s Personal Recovery Unit and visiting recovery centres, Forces charities and NHS units.
A source added: ‘What he is doing now is helping him develop his knowledge of how the system works. The military will always play a very important part in Prince Harry’s life and especially supporting those who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces.’