bitchy | Why didn’t Prince William serve in Afghanistan even after QEII signed off on it?

The general consensus of Prince Harry’s Spare was that the parts of the memoir devoted to Harry’s military service weren’t the most interesting or gossip-worthy sections. I sort of agree, even though I understand why Harry wrote so much about his tours of duty and his training. Much of the book is about his mental health journey, and one of his major goals is normalizing conversations with veterans about mental health. What I found fascinating about those sections was Harry’s descriptions of the mostly ex-military men on his staff and his father’s staff, advising him and pushing him into military service and Apache flight training. While I absolutely believe Harry would have found a way to go to war regardless of their advice, he was definitely put on his path by men he trusted. It was not the same for William – his military training and service was merely ticking off some “future king” boxes. Still, the narrative is being rewritten to make William sound like he was very keen to serve in Afghanistan.

The Queen wanted both William and Harry to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan when war broke out in 2001, before deciding it was too risky to send the future heir to the throne, an ex-Army chief has revealed in a breach of protocol. The decision over whether the princes should take part in the conflict was discussed at a meeting between the late Elizabeth II and General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly head of the British Army.

In an upcoming ITVX documentary called The Real Crown, Sir Mike breached protocol by revealing details of his private audience with the Queen. He said: ‘What goes on in those audiences and who says what to whom remains for the two people involved, and I will break the rule about not divulging what goes on on this one occasion. She was very clear. She said, “My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty.” And that was that. But it was decided that William as heir to the heir, the risk is too great. But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable.’

The Real Crown reveals that the Queen had put a lot of thought into the decision as she had detailed information about the risks faced by UK armed personnel in Afghanistan. Sir John Scarlett, at the time head of MI6, said: ‘Of course she has complete clearance to everything. She has complete access to an exceptional amount of info and insight for longer than anyone else. William was very keen to go.’

He added: ‘She’s very, very discreet, completely reliable and completely on top of the detail. I remember thinking at the time, “Wow, Her Majesty knows more about this than we do”.’

William completed a training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst spanning 44 weeks after graduating from university. He was commissioned as an Army officer in December 2006. He joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) until 2008 and was later attached to the Royal Air Force and Navy. Harry served in the Army for ten years, rising to the rank of Captain and undertaking two operational tours of duty in Afghanistan, in 2007-8 and 2012-13.

The documentary shows that William was stopped from joining the war, despite wanting to, due to his position as a future King. Mark Cann, director of the British Forces Foundation, said in the series: ‘William was very keen to go. Unequivocally. But it was complex, and some very great minds and experienced people took a view on it. I think it was really tricky. Anybody who’s in the military who hasn’t actually been on operation feels a sense of disappointment. And I think especially that was the one (war) at the time, you’ve got everyone around you at the time who’s been involved in it. So there is a sense of disappointment.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Well, it sounds like QEII signed off on sending both Harry and William into Afghanistan but other people – people in the military, one would assume – were the ones to say that William shouldn’t go. I actually don’t read this particular story as William being coddled as the heir – I think they always used Harry as a “canary in the coal mine,” and after seeing what happened to Harry on his first tour, they shut it down. Plus, those military men knew William was deeply unprepared. Please. That man half-asses everything.

Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like anyone is addressing the fact that William still could have served in some sort of overseas military function, just not in a theater of war? There are lots of other military postings and William could have had his pick. So why didn’t he get that experience? Don’t tell me, I think I know.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.