12. Harry's Journey

Prince Harry returns to Afghanistan for his second deployment, serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in active combat while grappling with the unique challenges of being a royal soldier in one of the world's most dangerous war zones.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Kalaruga Shark Media. The helicopter blades cut through the thin
desert air as Prince Harry peers out at the barren
landscape of Afghanistans spread below him. It's February twenty twelve,
and the twenty seven year old prince is about to

(00:24):
embark on his second deployment to one of the world's
most dangerous war zones. But this time is different. This time,
he's not just a soldier's serving his country. He's a
prince whose very presence on the battlefield could endanger every
person serving alongside him. This is Crown and Controversy, Episode twelve,

(00:53):
Harry's journey. The decision to return Harry to active duty
in Afghanistan has consumed months of heated discussions between Clarence House,
the Ministry of Defense, and the highest levels of government.

(01:14):
The memories of his aborted first deployment in two thousand
and seven still sting when media reports about his presence
forced military commanders to pull him from the front lines
after just ten weeks. The headlines then screamed about the
most protected soldier in Afghanistan, but Harry saw only failure.
A prince whose privilege had made him a liability to

(01:36):
his fellow soldiers. Now, four years later, the Palace and
military have crafted an elaborate strategy to keep Harry's deployment secret.
Operation Minimize, as its code named, internally, involves unprecedented cooperation
between British media outlets who have agreed to a complete
news blackout about Harry's presence in Afghanistan in exchange for

(02:00):
exclusive access when he returns. It's a gamble that could
either showcase the modern monarchy's commitment to service or create
a security nightmare that could cost lives. At Camp Bastion
in Hellman Province, Harry's commanding officers face the complex challenge
of treating him as both a regular soldier and a

(02:21):
high value target. Captain Wales, as he's known here, will
serve as an Apache helicopter co pilot and gunner, roles
that require split second decisions and absolute trust between crew members.
But how do you maintain normal military discipline when your
subordinate is third in line to the throne. The Prince

(02:42):
wants to be treated like any other pilot, explains his
commanding officer in a briefing to senior staff. But we
all understand the implications if something goes wrong. This isn't
just about one soldier anymore. This is about the future
of the monarchy. The contradiction at the heart of Harry's

(03:03):
military service has followed him throughout his army career. At Sandhurst,
instructors struggled with how to discipline a prince during training exercises,
Fellow cadets wondered whether their royal classmate would receive special treatment,
And now, in the most dangerous posting of his career,
Harry faces the ultimate test of whether his desire to

(03:25):
serve as a normal soldier can coexist with the extraordinary
reality of his birth. In his sparse quarters at Camp Bastion,
Harry keeps two photographs on his small desk. One shows
him with William and Catherine at their wedding reception, their
faces glowing with happiness and hope. The other is a

(03:45):
picture of his mother visiting landmine victims in Angola, her
hand reaching out to comfort a child whose life had
been shattered by war. These images remind him daily of
the two worlds he inhabits, the privileged realm of royal
deus and the harsh reality of military service, where life
and death decisions carry no regard for titles or bloodlines.

(04:08):
The Apache helicopter Harry flies represents twenty seven million pounds
of sophisticated military technology, equipped with missiles, rockets, and a
thirty millimeter cannon capable of devastating enemy positions. But inside
the cramped cockpit, Prince or no Prince, Harry must prove

(04:29):
himself worthy of his crew's trust every single day. His
co pilot, a seasoned warrant officer with fifteen years of
combat experience, initially approaches their partnership with barely concealed skepticism.
I've flown with rich boys before, the warrant officer confides
to a fellow pilot. They think this is some kind

(04:50):
of adventure, but when the shooting starts, they usually remember
they have more to lose than the rest of us.
Harry's first combat mission comes just three weeks into his deployment.
Intelligence reports indicate Taliban fighters are threatening a forward operating
base in a remote valley. The mission briefing is routine,

(05:11):
but everyone in the room understands the extraordinary nature of
what's about to happen. For the first time in modern history,
a direct heir to the British throne will engage enemy
combatants in active warfare. As his apache lifts off into
the pre dawn darkness, Harry feels the familiar mixture of

(05:32):
fear and exhilaration that every combat pilot knows. But beneath
these normal emotions lies something deeper, the knowledge that his
presence here represents more than personal courage. He's carrying the
weight of royal tradition into battle, proving that the House
of Windsor still believes in leading from the front when

(05:52):
duty demands it. The radio crackles with coordinates and target information.
As Harry's hellice approaches the combat zone below. British soldiers
are pinned down by enemy fire, their situation growing more
desperate by the minute. Harry's training takes over as he
identifies targets through his sophisticated optic system, his finger hovering

(06:17):
over the weapons controls that could end lives with the
squeeze of a trigger. The first shots Harry fires in
anger echo across the Afghan mountains with a significance that

(06:39):
extends far beyond their immediate tactical purpose. These are the
first rounds fired in combat by a member of the
Royal family since Prince Andrew's service in the Falklands War
thirty years earlier. But unlike Andrew's naval service, Harry's role
as an Apache gunner means his decisions will directly determine
who lives and who dies in the valleys below. The

(07:04):
engagement lasts seventeen minutes, but in Harry's memory it will
feel both eternal and instantaneous. His weapon systems function flawlessly,
his target identification proves accurate, and the enemy position is
neutralized without casualties among British forces. But as his helicopter
returns to base, Harry grapples with the reality that he

(07:27):
has crossed a line no prince has crossed in generations.
How do you feel? His co pilot asks, as they
shut down the Apache's engines Back at Camp Bastion, Harry
considers the question carefully, like a soldier. He finally answers
and means it. The psychological impact of combat affects Harry

(07:49):
in ways that Pallace advisers never anticipated. The young man
who deployed to Afghanistan still carried traces of the playful
prince who had charmed the public with his informal manner
and occasional indiscretions. The pilot who emerges from his first
firefight has been fundamentally changed by the experience of holding

(08:10):
life and death in his hands. Letters from home provide
glimpses into the world Harry has temporarily left behind. William
writes about his training as a search and rescue pilot,
describing the satisfaction of saving lives rather than taking them.
Catherine shares news of their charitable work and the adjustments

(08:30):
she's making to royal life. Their words feel like messages
from another planet, so removed are they from the daily
reality of war. But it's a letter from his father
that affects Harry most deeply. Prince Charles, writing in his
careful long hand, expresses pride in his son's service, while
also conveying subtle concerns about the risks Harry is accepting.

(08:54):
Your grandmother speaks often of your courage, Charles writes, but
remember that bravery without whizdos is merely recklessness. Your country
needs you to return home safely. The letter carries an
unspoken message that Harry understands completely. Unlike his fellow soldiers,
Harry's death would not be a private tragedy confined to family.

(09:16):
And friends. It would be a national catastrophe, potentially destabilizing
the monarchy and creating a security crisis that could endanger
other members of the royal family. This knowledge weighs on
Harry during quiet moments, the understanding that his desire to
serve as a normal soldier carries abnormal consequences. As weeks

(09:39):
turn to months, Harry establishes a routine that helps him
balance these competing pressures dawn briefings, maintenance checks, combat missions, debriefings,
and the endless cycle of military life in a war zone.
His fellow pilots gradually warmed to their royal colleague as
they witness his competence and commitment. The secret of his

(10:01):
presence creates its own tensions. It's like having a bomb
on base, one senior officer confides to his diary. Everyone
knows it's here, everyone's walking carefully around it, but we
can't talk about it. And we all know that if
word gets out, everything changes. The media blackout holds through

(10:22):
the spring and into the summer of twenty twelve, but
maintaining the secret requires constant vigilance. Every journalist who arrives
at Camp Bastion must be briefed about what they cannot report.
Every photograph must be scrutinized to ensure Harry's face doesn't appear.
Every communication home is monitored to prevent accidental disclosure of

(10:45):
his location. The strain of maintaining this deception affects Harry
in unexpected ways. He cannot call home freely knowing that
his communications are monitored. He cannot form the same casual
friendships with fellows understanding that his presence puts them under
additional scrutiny, and he cannot escape the knowledge that his

(11:07):
every action is being evaluated not just as a soldier,
but as a representative of the British Crown. During a
particularly difficult week in August, when Taliban attacks intensify across
Hellman Province, Harry participates in six combat missions in five days.
The operational tempo pushes him to his physical and emotional limits,

(11:30):
but it also provides the clearest answer yet to the
question that has haunted his military career. Can a prince
truly be a soldier? His performance during this intense period
earns the respect of even his harshest critics within the
military hierarchy. Harry's kill count remains classified but his effectiveness

(11:51):
as a weapon systems operator is undeniable. More importantly, his
presence seems to inspire, rather than intimidate, his fellow soul,
who begin to see him not as a privileged outsider,
but as a committed member of their brotherhood. The turning

(12:13):
point in Harry's deployment comes in September, when his Apache
crew is called to assist in the rescue of wounded
soldiers from a remote patrol base. The mission requires precise
flying in dangerous terrain with Taliban fighters positioned in the
surrounding hills. As Harry's helicopter approaches the landing zone, enemy
fire begins to streak across the valley. The pilot wounded

(12:37):
in the engagement is a twenty two year old corporal
from Manchester, his leg shattered by an improvised explosive device.
As Harry helps load the injured soldier into the medical helicopter,
their eyes meet for a moment. The young corporal, delirious
with pain and medication, focuses on Harry's face with sudden recognition.

(12:58):
You're him. The corps whispers, You're the Prince. Harry freezes,
understanding that his secret has been compromised, But instead of
fear or resentment, he sees something else in the wounded
soldier's eyes, gratitude that a member of the royal family
cared enough to serve alongside ordinary troops in harm's way.

(13:20):
I'm just another pilot, Harry replies quietly, But the encounter
reinforces Harry's growing understanding that his service in Afghanistan means
something beyond personal fulfillment or military necessity. He's demonstrating that
the modern monarchy still believes in shared sacrifice. That privilege
comes with obligations that extend to the ultimate risk. As

(13:44):
his deployment nears its end in October twenty twelve, Harry
participates in one final major operation, a joint British and
Afghan assault on a Taliban stronghold that has been disrupting
supply convoys for months. The mission success, but not without cost.
Two British soldiers are killed in the fighting. Their deaths

(14:06):
a stark reminder of the price paid for every tactical
victory in this complicated war. At the memorial service for
the fallen soldiers, Harry stands with his fellow pilots and
ground crews, no longer thinking about the headlines his presence
might generate, or the diplomatic complications his service might create.
He's thinking about the families who will receive folded flags,

(14:29):
about the children who will grow up without fathers, about
the terrible arithmetic of war that measures success in lives
saved against lives lost. The moment marks Harry's final transformation
from reluctant prince to committed soldier. He has proven to
himself and to others that royal blood doesn't preclude real service,

(14:51):
that privilege can coexist with genuine sacrifice. The young man
who struggled with his identity in nightclubs and employd's scandals
has found something approaching peace in the most unlikely place,
a war zone where his title matters less than his competence.
When Harry's deployment officially ends in January twenty thirteen, he

(15:14):
has flown over one hundred combat missions and spent nearly
five months in one of the world's most dangerous military environments.
The media blackout has held, preserving operational security and allowing
him to serve without the circus of publicity that derailed
his first deployment. But as his transport plane lifts off

(15:36):
from Camp bastion for the final time. Harry knows that
he's leaving behind more than just a military posting. He
is leaving behind the last place where he could be
judged simply as Harry Wale's helicopter pilot rather than Prince
Henry of Wales's third in line to the throne. The
man returning to England carries with him not just the

(15:59):
set faction of duty performed, but the weight of decisions
made in combat, the bonds forged with fellow soldiers, and
the knowledge that he has crossed thresholds that few princes
in history have ever faced. His journey from pampered royal
to combat veteran has been completed, but the challenge now

(16:19):
will be integrating these two identities into a coherent vision
of modern princely duty. As London appears through the aircraft's windows,
Harry prepares to re enter a world of protocol and publicity,
charitable engagements and state occasions. But he carries with him
the hard earned confidence of someone who has tested himself

(16:41):
in the ultimate crucible and emerged not just unbroken, but transformed.
Next time on crown and controversy, the longest serving monarch
in British history prepares for a celebration sixty years in
the making, Queen Elizabeth the Second's Diamond Jewny becomes a
showcase for modern monarchy. But behind the pageantry, questions linger

(17:07):
about succession, family unity, and whether the institution can maintain
its relevance in a rapidly changing world. Crown and Controversy
is a production of Caloroga Shark Media executive producers Mark
Francis and John McDermott. While no one truly knows what
happens behind closed palace doors, I've used news sources, on

(17:31):
the record, quotes, and some artistic license to craft this
entertainment series. Some moments have been dramatized for storytelling effect.
AI narration was used in creation of this series. To
keep up with the modern day royal family, follow our
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