By Molly Claire Goddard
4:08pm PDT, Aug 13, 2025
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Prince Harry's time in the military was sadly cut short. The Duke of Sussex — who served 10 years in the British army — was deployed twice on active duty to Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. Despite the U.K. press issuing a media blackout regarding his whereabouts at the time, one news leak threatened his safety and forced him to immediately leave a "perilous" combat zone — apparently against his wishes.
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According to royal insider
Katie Nicholl's new
Prince Harry and
Meghan Markle biography,
The Making of a Royal Romance, the press originally agreed not to reveal the prince's location while he was on duty. However, in 2008, an Australian outlet decided to break the agreement, forcing Harry to leave Afghanistan and his fellow servicemen. "
Prince Harry didn't smile as he descended the steps of the RAF TriStar passenger jet at exactly 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, March 1," Nicholl recalls. Following his exit, Harry told the press of his comrades, "They were upset, they were pretty depressed for me. They were just like, 'It would be nice to keep you here.'" The feeling was mutual.
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Elsewhere in the tell-all, Katie Nicholl claims
Prince Harry enjoyed his time in the military and was loved by his fellow soldiers. "Harry's easy nature and sense of humor quickly won him the friendship and trust of his comrades," she writes, noting that the then-23-year-old basked in the "simplicity and anonymity of this life" in the military and seemed "more comfortable being a soldier than a prince."
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During his tour in 2007,
Prince Harry missed the holidays with
Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the royal family. "The press kept their word and little was made of the fact that Harry was absent from the family's traditional lunch at Sandringham. When the Queen delivered her traditional Christmas Day speech, she poignantly prayed for the safe return of every soldier in Afghanistan," Katie Nicholl writes. "Few knew she and the rest of the royals were feeling the same fear and worry as every other family who had sons and daughters on the front line that Christmas." Although the two are currently estranged,
Prince William allegedly wrote a letter to his younger brother gushing over how "proud" he was of Harry's service.
