Prince Henry/Prince Harry of Wales

[rosieposie]

So true Ann.  Wishing all those over there to be safe.

[RoyalWatcher]

Wow, I was just looking at some photos that were taken yesterday of the pre-Christmas celebration at Buck House yesterday. In the very last photo of arrivals/departures, I swear I saw Prince Harry sitting in the front passenger seat of a sedan with Camilla in the back seat. Is Harry home for the holidays?

http://www.newmyroyals.com/2012/12/pre-christmas-lunch-at-buckingham-palace.html

Scroll to the bottom and click to see the additional photos. It is the very last one in the series.

[Grace]

That's him all right!  They don't call you 'Royal Watcher' for nothing!

[Jen_94]

Initally I headr he was going to spending it in Afgahnistan, but yes, seems like he is home for the holidays! That's definitely 100% him!

[Lucien]

Prince Harry will dish out Christmas meals to the junior soldiers at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan!!!
Great Guy!!!

[Kalafrana]

It is a British military tradition that the officers serve the men their Christmas dinner, and the sergeants give them early morning tea. Another Christmas tradition is an officers v sergeants football match - doubtless Harry will be playing!

Ann

[grandduchessella]

From a blog site in Dec:

"Britain's Prince Harry has killed his first Taliban commander.

The 28-year-old royal - who is currently serving on the frontline in Afghanistan and is nicknamed Big H by his comrades - unleashed a devastating 100lb Hellfire missile on the chief during an attack in October.

One of his comrades told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: ''We were on patrol and the Apache helicopters were called in. We heard this posh voice come over the radio and knew it was Big H. they were tracking a Taliban leader - he was commander level. ''The Apache then let off some Hellfire missiles and its 30mm cannon and 'boom'. It was Big H all the way.''
Harry - a gunship co-pilot - is on tour in Helmand and has been flying daily combat missions helping ''troops in contact'', the code given when ground forces are engaged by enemy fighters and he has become a very popular figure with his comrades. 

The insider added: ''I met him in the cookhouse. I saw this bloke standing in line and I went, 'That's Big H.' He's like a normal squaddie. All the guys in Afghan have so much respect for him and love him. ''Big H is a legend, he's been out in Afghan and he's doing the business. All the guys love him - he's Big H. He likes a drink and a laugh and he's one of the lads.''"

[RoyalWatcher]

Bless him. He is coming home safe and sound after serving in Afghanistan. Well done, Harry!

[Jen_94]

Watched a documentry on the news today about Harry's time in Afghanistan. Very interesting to see what he gets up to when he is not fighting. Comes across as a very fun, down to earth and jokey person!

Also saw the news of him coming home safe. Well done to Harry!

[Suzanne]

My review of Harry: The People's Prince by Chris Hutchins

http://www.royalhistorian.com/harry-the-peoples-prince-by-chris-hutchins-review/

[IvanVII]

Was looking at some of the news regarding his U.S. tour. He strikes me as the type of military officer soldiers like to work for. I think given the opportunity he'll make an outstanding career military officer.

Also while reviewing them, I had a bit of a premature thought. The current Duke of York has no male children to carry forward the title so upon his death it will revert back to the crown. It is also the traditional title for the second son of the king/queen. Should he marry anytime soon, do you think he will get a lesser title (a'la his uncle) until  he can inherit the title "Duke of York"?

[Kalafrana]

Current practice seems to be for princes to be given peerages on marriage. Given that Prince Harry will be the next Duke of York, I imagine he will be given an earldom when he marries, following the precedent of his uncle Edward.

Ann

[RoyalWatcher]

When the PoW ascends the throne, at some point Prince William will be installed as the new PoW. If Harry isn't married by that point, I wonder if Harry will still use the "Wales" distinction (as in Captain Harry Wales)? Or, do you think his father will bestow upon him a peerage prior to marriage since his brother and his family would be the Wales'? 

[Kalafrana]

As far as I know, the point hasn't arisen before. The habit of giving younger sons peerages only on marriage is a fairly recent development. The last Prince of Wales who had two or more adult sons living was the future Edward VII. Albert Victor was created Duke of Clarence in 1890 and George Duke of York in 1892.

It would be perfectly possible to give Prince Harry a peerage on his father's accession. Doubtless he will be the next Duke of York, but he will have to wait for his uncle Andrew to die for that.

Ann

[mcdnab]

I suspect it will be similar to the situation of the Queen's younger sons - all of them had to wait for marriage.
I suspect the view being that being Prince Andrew and Prince Edward was perfectly ok for them until that point.
In fact one of the reasons for bestowing peerages on them at their marriages was to make it easier to correctly address their wives.
A way of avoiding the Diana issue - she technically was of course HRH The Princess of Wales or Princess Charles but in common parlance was styled in the press and almost everywhere as Princess Diana.
Granting Edward and Andrew peerages on marriage avoided that and neither Sarah or Sophie have been styled incorrectly as a result.
It also avoids the awkward situation given the innacuracy and lack of intelligence of many reporters of having them styled Princess Andrew or Princess Edward.
I am sure Harry will be fine simply being Prince Harry until he gets married if he does.