The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that Prince William will spend time with Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, and General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, when he returns to his Army service in September.

Intriguingly, he will also serve with the Special Forces, the SAS, and possibly the SBS, but will not be involved in forward operations. This placement is at his own request, the BBC reports.

In the four or five months remaining of his military service, William will be shown what goes on at the very apex of the Services’ hierarchy with the highest of the top brass, deep in the MoD building in Whitehall. It will be the culmination of an action-packed and wide-ranging three-year training period to prepare him for his future role as Head of the Armed Forces.

From tomorrow, the Prince will be on holiday in Mustique with girlfriend Kate Middleton, who has already flown out to the Caribbean to be with him. It has been reported that she refused a free upgrade to First Class on the BA flight, preferring to be treated like everyone else. “Please call me Kate,” she told cabin crew, putting an end to recent confusion over her preferred name.

On the couple’s return, they are expected to spend a week with the Queen and the Prince of Wales at Balmoral in Scotland. Some news sources are claiming that plans for a summer wedding next year are well underway and will be put to bed in August. At the very least a hint of an announcement may just leak out of the grand Scottish castle to set Royalist hearts aflutter all over again.

In the BBC footage this morning I was struck by William’s growing maturity and poise. In full Navy kit he no longer resembles his mother, but bears a striking likeness to the young Prince Philip, his grandfather.

It’s a very good omen.

Updated 16.30 29 February

The British Ministry of Defence has just announced that Prince Harry is to be withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, after his cover was blown yesterday by an influential website.

Prince Harry on foot patrol in Afghanistan

Reaction around the world has been very favourable to Harry’s deployment, in which he managed to serve for 10 of his 12 week term.

In an online poll on Sky News Australia, 78 percent said it was wrong for the Australiam women’s magazine, New Idea (locally known as No Idea) to have leaked Prince Harry’s deployment back in early January. New Idea’s website was flooded with readers expressing horror and calling for the resignation of its editor.

Readers called its journalists “guttersnipes”, “money-hungry idiots”, “morons” and “selfish parasites”, and that they were an embarrassment to Australians living abroad. Australians are nothing if not forthright in expressing their views.

Perhaps this now puts the current silence of Prince William and Kate Middleton into some sort of perspective. Royal Anecdotes believes both Kate and Chelsy have agreed not to be seen out partying while Harry is fighting in Afghanistan where 89 British soldiers have died in recent months.

One newspaper comments, “The Prince dismissed fears that he is a ‘bullet magnet’, swore he does not miss ‘anything’ [about his life in the UK], and said he believed his mother was proud of him. He made no reference to girlfriend Chelsy Davy.”

This could be to protect her from association with him. In an interview last week, Harry conceded that on his return to the UK, he could be a “top target” for homegrown jihadists sympathetic to the Taliban. “Once this comes out, every single person that supports them will be trying to slot me,” he said.

I don’t wish to stir this up, but maybe Chelsy should be given some protection too.

Update: The British Commander in Afghanistan has just said that Prince Harry flourished in the difficult environment of the country and served with distinction. I wonder if that means a “mention in dispatches” or even a Distinguished Service Medal?

Prince Harry will leave the British Army earlier than expected, say his friends. Instead of a glittering 20-year career as a professional soldier, Harry has realized that no commander can commit him to the type of war zone the modern Army fights in.

Voices close to Prince Harry are now positioning him for a face-saving early exit to become a full-time Royal and charity worker, possibly together with girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

Prince Harry with Chelsy Davy

A source is quoted as saying, “Harry has wanted to serve in the Army since he was a small boy and the debacle over his deployment to Iraq has hit him hard. The poor lad really is beside himself and more than a bit depressed. He keeps up nearly by the hour on what is happening with his boys in the Gulf.

“He is trying to be positive about what has happened because the situation out in Iraq is so unusual, but knows in his heart of hearts that pulling him out was the death knell for his Army career.”

The friend went on, “He has not put a timeline on it yet but he has definitely changed his mind about the Army being his full-time career and will leave earlier than was previously thought. He has decided he will devote his time to charity work and travel. Harry has a list that his mother once made of things she wanted to help to change in the world and he wants to check all of them off.

“Harry is quite a complex character in that way. He is an outgoing lad who loves a beer, a cigarette and night out on the tiles, but he can be incredibly sensitive too and is very passionate about his work in Africa, even though he doesn’t always articulate it particularly well.”

And what of Chelsy Davy? The source said, “Don’t be surprised if you see his girlfriend, Chelsy, doing a bit of good work as well. Harry has been trying to invigorate everyone around him to help those who need it.”

Well, at least he’s being realistic about his role in life. Sending the third in-line to the Throne to be killed on a vicious battlefield most people think is not worth fighting over, would be a dismal outcome for the nation, and for a young man with so much to offer in other ways.

Keep your spirits up, Harry. It’s all still to play for.

Also read Kate Middleton sizzles for summer.

With British troops taking heavy casualties in Afghanistan, it seems Prince Harry’s chances of getting there even in a training capacity are diminishing by the day.

Prince Harry in battle mode

The plan to send him in with the East Anglian regiment, which has lost over a dozen men recently, have been put on hold. A final decision over whether he can serve in Afghanistan will not be taken for some weeks, according to insiders.

Some say that despite the fierce fighting in Helmand Province a range of options still remain open for him, including sending Harry to work at the NATO headquarters in the capital Kabul, which remains relatively safe.

He could also be given a job at Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand which is located in remote desert, and has so far not come under direct attack. However, once the Taliban get word he’s there, that could change dramatically.

It looks now as if Harry is destined for a very minor role in the Army, with him quitting after his initial three-year commission.