KEY POINTS:
As Second Lieutenant Wales touched down at RAF Brize Norton in the English countryside near Oxford yesterday, frustrated and disappointed at the abrupt end to his frontline posting, the prospect of swapping an Afghan bunker for the Household Cavalry's Windsor Barracks cannot have been appealing.
"I don't want
to sit around Windsor," he admitted. "I generally don't like England that much and, you know, it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers and all the general shite that they write."
England was, in fact, "poo", he declared.
They are not, perhaps, the most diplomatic of statements. But to put it in context, this was the 23-year-old Prince seeing action for the first time and clearly enjoying the best, most rewarding, 10 weeks of his life - the 10 weeks he had trained for since joining the Army.
Whether pumping high-calibre machine-gun rounds at "Terry Taleban" - "They poke their heads up and that's it," he explained - riding motorbikes in desert sand or smiling at small boys on donkeys while armed to the teeth on patrol, he was living his dream.
And his photogenic Action Man exploits, captured on film and recounted in a series of interviews will, no doubt, see teenagers queuing up at Army recruitment offices.
But what price will he - and other members of the royal family - now have to pay for the fulfilment of his ambition to serve in action? And what future does he now face?
As military chiefs and palace and government officials bask in the apparent success of Harry's secret mission, they are examining whether it is possible for him ever to repeat the experience. This could be his first and last taste of action.
Prince Harry has admitted that his planned tour of Iraq last year, aborted after the Observer revealed the depth of planning by insurgents to either kill or capture him, and the prospect of never seeing action, forced him to consider quitting the Army. "I didn't join the Army thinking I was never going to go on operations," he said.
Only the arrangement between the British press and the Ministry of Defence that allowed him to go to Afghanistan changed his mind.
He has begged for another posting, approaching his commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Smyth-Osbourne, about the possibility of returning this northern summer for a shorter spell with 16 Air Assault Brigade. But such hopes seem likely to be dashed. The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said yesterday there was "no immediate prospect". It was "hypothetical for the next 12 to 18 months".
Instead, Harry faces "upcoming regimental commitments" and life in Windsor, well within range of London's Boujis and Mahiki nightclubs where he has been a regular and the lure of the Crack Baby cocktail. As an easily bored, adrenalin-seeking young man determined to have a good time, the prospect of him swiftly undoing all the good PR in a succession of paparazzi-fodder exploits must fill his advisers with horror.
Paradoxically, these past 10 weeks, when Harry experienced a life "as normal as it gets", will make it even less normal for him in the future.
A thorough review of his personal security measures began last month, immediately after officers from SO14, Scotland Yard's royal protection unit, were first shown footage of Harry on the front line by the MoD during a briefing. "From that point on, we knew the bar was raised," said one source. "The material is a huge security headache for officers protecting the Prince. In some ways, the images were our worst nightmare, but we have to work from here and accept that his military responsibilities may single him out."
The number of the royal protection unit, including armed officers, bodyguards and "spotters" assigned to Harry has been "significantly" increased. Nightclubs and other public venues he visits will have to be vetted. The Prince will receive extra armed protection at royal palaces and residences as well.
Images of the 'Warrior Prince' taking pot shots at the Taleban, and wandering around in a baseball cap embroidered with the words "We do bad things to bad people", have inflamed parts of the Muslim community.
Al Qaeda supporters' websites are calling for his death. "We ask God to enable our beloved brothers in the Taleban to seize this priceless booty because nothing would break the heart of his grandmother more than if she lost him," reads one entry.
Another proclaims: "Do you know, my brothers, that this filthy Harry is the son of the prostitute Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in the arms of her lover?" Yet another consoles: "Don't be sorry his fate did not come yet. And, if it comes, no one can stop it with Allah's permission."
The radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed has said the Prince's presence in Afghanistan was a "crime" and would be used as a recruiting tool for al Qaeda as well as radicalising young British Muslims.
Senior police officers said the footage of the Prince shooting at the enemy and calling in airstrikes would make his security a "nightmare" from now on.
It is clear from his comments that he hopes to go back. His frustration must be weighed against the danger that his presence could pose to other troops. There are severe doubts that the operation could ever be repeated. It took exceptional planning to pull it off.
First, national newspapers and broadcasters had to be convinced that keeping it secret - in return for unprecedented access - was in the best public interest. Had the media not agreed, Harry could not have gone.
The problem is that, next time Harry disappears from public view, the assumption will now be made that he is again on the front line - and with that assumption the risk of increased attacks on British troops in the hope of getting the most prized scalp.
For some, the glut of Boy's Own images has been spin-doctor overkill. Robert Lacey, the royal biographer, said: "The danger of overplaying it is that it diverts attention from the actual issues and tactics of the war. It 'celebritises' it. It dumbs down a brave young man going to do his duty.
"He is definitely being used in a propaganda war. There are far too many glamorous, celebrity-style pictures of him in desert fatigues carrying a gun.
"And I think, in weeks to come, it will backfire. People will think, 'Great for Harry, he's been brought home now because it's safe.' But what about the others? I don't think William will ever be able to do this. "
Royal aides will now be monitoring the public reaction to Harry's tour before deciding what, if anything, William will be allowed to do in his turn.
There is, however, speculation that William is set to serve on a frigate during his forthcoming placement with the Royal Navy.
Harry comes back filled with pride at the contribution he has made, and full of praise for the other serving men and women.
"People join the army almost to go on operations and to serve their country to help in the little way that they can," he said. "And if that is spending six months in the army and then your second six months in Afghanistan, and then for the soldier to sign off after that, well, I don't see any problem with that. They think, 'Well, I've done my bit. How much more can be asked of me?"'
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
Prince Harry's deployment, despite his own perception, was far from "normal" - not least because of the presence of special forces and also his SO14 protection squad throughout - though the latter usually stayed on nearby bases rather than at his side.
That is not to denigrate at all his personal bravery and the risk to him, especially as he was, in his own words, "a bullet magnet".
He flew out from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Kandahar the week before Christmas. There, he was fast-tracked through theatre training, before he "hitched a lift" on a Special Forces flight which "chucked" him out at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Dwyer in southern Afghanistan.
Thus, he deliberately bypassed the massive British Camp Bastion base, avoiding the several thousand British troops as well as a large number of multinational forces at Kandahar. Troops at the remote southern bases through which he then passed were warned not to tell their families.
From there he went up to join the Gurkhas at FOB Delhi, an extremely remote base, just 500m from the Taleban front line. Once there, he was able to operate with a greater degree of normality and anonymity. But that was not too difficult a challenge in Garmsir, where he was pictured on patrol - almost all of its population fled last year during fierce fighting and only 140 have since returned.
Until Saturday, Harry was operating with a squadron of light tanks in the desert outside the former Taleban stronghold of Musa Qaleh, a vitally important town, retaken by the British and Afghan forces in December.
There he commanded a seven-strong Spartan vehicle team, as well as conducting stop-and-search of vehicles.
- OBSERVER
