Keeping the Princes Safe

Prince Harry wanted to play war so long, I suppose, as doing so posed no real risk to his mortal frame.

"This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier," the Ministry of Defense said in a statement issued Friday.

The duties of royalty keep William and Harry out of harm's way, and clearly the risk to his unit is not the risk the Ministry of Defense is concerned with seeing as they risk their lives every day in their occupations.

It's easy to be sarcastic about this elitism, these separate rules for royalty, until we remember that the American political royalty is no different, in fact, much worse. Our princes play soldier stateside, if at all, go AWOL under dubious circumstances, use the leverage of their priveleged fathers to keep out of harm's way. Sure, others in Harry's unit would probably like to go home as well, and be kept out of harm's way, but their station forbids it as surely as it did the less priveleged Americans in Vietnam. But Harry served for five months in the line of fire, a service which, in comparison to an American prince of another era, stands as noble and courageous. Even though it seems absurd that one man gets to leave a war zone because it's dangerous, at least Prince Harry was willing to face the same dangers as his countrymen. Better than some future princes.