Unconfirmed reports earlier this month suggested that the prince?s unit, ?A? Squadron of the Blues and Royals, had been warned unofficially to expect a six-month tour of duty in southern Iraq starting in April.They will be deployed as part of a Household Cavalry detachment as 1 Mechanised Brigade replaces 19 Light Brigade, which is returning home after a six-month tour of duty.

It is not yet known what duties the Prince ? known in the Army as Cornet Wales ? will perform. But Prince Harry has insisted he wants to be treated the same as any ordinary soldier, rather than being kept away from harm in a headquarters job. John Nichol, former RAF navigator who was shot down in 1991 during the first Iraq War, said it was right he should serve on the front line. He told GMTV: ?If we were not going to allow him to go to war, he shouldn?t have gone into the army.?

Prince Harry, 22, graduated from the Sandhust Military Academy last year as a second lieutenant in the upper crust Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry. His elder brother, William, has joined the same regiment, but, as second in line to the throne, is considered too much of a risk for Iraq.

The right-of-center Daily Mail reported recently that Prince Harry, a partying denizen of London?s more exclusive night-spots, has told the military brass that he will quit the army if he is left behind when his unit begins a six-month tour in southern Iraq in April. He would be the first royal family member to serve in a combat zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew helicopters in the Falklands War 25 years ago, the Daily Mail said.

In Britain, Prince Harry is usually escorted by police officers, and newspapers have pondered whether his bodyguards would go to war with him. Britain has about 7,500 troops in southern Iraq patrolling areas including the Iranian border region. Four of six British fatalities in recent weeks have been caused by roadside bombs. Britain has lost about 130 soldiers since the 2003 invasion.

The prince has a checkered reputation, marked by his public admissions of under-age drinking and marijuana abuse, and offset by a spell working with AIDS orphans in Africa. He once attended a costume party dressed as a Nazi officer, complete with swastika armband, and later apologized.

He has always insisted though that he would not shirk a tour in Iraq and he has trained to command a unit of four light armored vehicles. ?There?s no way I?m going to put myself through Sandhurst, and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country,? he once told a television interviewer.

The Daily Mail quoted an unidentified army official as saying: ?Harry?s always wanted to be treated as an ordinary soldier and I think people respect him for that.? He?s not an ordinary soldier, of course, but it looks like he?s got his way over Iraq. ?Frankly I don?t envy his commanders. Losing any soldier under your command is awful. Lose the third in line to the throne and you?d unfortunately go down in history as well.?