Prince Harry

by Duncan Larcombe

  Ben told The Sun after Harry’s visit: ‘I feel humbled that Harry said what he did. It feels good to be recognized. I don’t see these injuries as any more than a blip in my career. In fact as soon as I get an artificial arm and leg I’m going to train for a marathon.’

  Although Ben McBean is one of thousands of wounded soldiers Harry has met in his life, he has come to symbolize why the Royal is now dedicated to war veterans. The four hours Harry spent with a knot in his stomach watching from his plane seat as the medics battled to keep the young Marine alive are something he will never forget.

  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may now be over, but few people are more aware than Harry of how many private battles are still being fought. The two conflicts have left a legacy of seriously injured men and women, and when Harry left the Army he was determined to do everything in his power to ensure the sacrifices made by so many in his generation are never forgotten.

  Harry has since met his friend Ben on many occasions, and Ben recalls the prince instructing him to go and have a beer at the finish line of one of his many incredible fundraising challenges.

  While it is true to say that Harry would have committed himself to the plight of wounded soldiers whatever he had witnessed in Afghanistan, his journey back from the conflict and his chance encounter with Ben McBean helped to shape his life.

  Whatever Harry chooses to do with the rest of his life, he will always be at the very centre of the effort to ensure the wounded are not forgotten.

  CHAPTER 8

  HARRY’S R&R

  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and as any soldier will tell you, never is this more true than when you are away at war while your sweetheart is thousands of miles away at home. Serving on the front line puts all relationships into perspective and the lack of things to do in the hours of downtime only makes you miss your loved one all the more.

  During his ten weeks in Afghanistan Harry, like all soldiers, found he had a lot of time on his hands to ponder his friendship with Chelsy Davy and to dwell on where it might be heading.

  The truth was that their whirlwind romance had been strained by the many weeks they had spent apart long before the Royal’s dream of heading to war became a reality. Ever since the pair had met, their precious times together amounted to safaris in Botswana, river trips in Namibia or holidays with the Davy family off the coast of Mozambique. There was little, if any, of the ‘normal’ time in which relationships can slowly grow stronger.

  In William and Kate’s first few years together at St Andrews University, their love blossomed during quiet nights in, eating home-made spaghetti Bolognese and curling up on the sofa to watch films. By the time they went public, they were already on solid ground, which helped save their relationship when they briefly broke up in 2007. But Harry and Chelsy’s romance had been a whirlwind from the word go. They had never experienced ‘normal’ life together to build a strong foundation.

  A friend of Chelsy once put the first few years of their relationship in perspective when she said: ‘They are madly in love but their times together are more honeymoon than normal life. They are either thousands of miles apart, or away together on holiday. It’s feast or famine, and Chelsy in particular finds that very difficult.’

  By September 2007, Chelsy had graduated from the University of Cape Town and applied successfully for a place on a post-graduate law degree course at Leeds University in the north of England. Much to Harry’s delight, this meant his first true love would finally be living and studying in the same country, even if any journey to see her would mean at least a five-hour drive from London. While not ideal, it would be – Harry hoped – far better than the six thousand miles of separation the pair had been used to.

  When Chelsy moved into her digs in a trendy student suburb of Leeds, the behind-the-scenes negotiations with the media aimed at getting Harry to war were in full swing. The reality was that Harry remained in limbo as his advisers battled to find a way of getting him to the front line in secret.

  At the end of October that year the England rugby team had surprised everyone by making it into the World Cup final in Paris to play none other than Chelsy’s South Africa. The young rugby-mad prince and his brother William had been invited to travel to the Stade de France to watch the showdown and the first person Harry asked to join him was Chelsy. But because of the demands of her new course she chose to stay in Leeds to continue her studies.

  This was a blow for Harry because he had hoped that having his girlfriend much closer to home would mean they could spend weekends together. But Chelsy was very focused on her studies and made it clear the only way they could really be together was if he came to her.

  Friends of the couple recalled Chelsy rowing on the phone with Harry during her first term at Leeds. One said: ‘Chelsy was really frustrated with Harry. She was trying to work hard and he was at a loose end for much of her first term. Photographers would follow her to the main campus even though Harry was nowhere to be seen. This made her angry and she often talked about her frustration at not being able to study in peace like everyone else. There were definite cracks appearing in the relationship even then, and Harry found it hard to say anything without making her cross.’

  As it turned out, throughout the entire first term at Leeds Harry only managed to visit Chelsy once, and even then it was at a friend’s student house, which was far from ideal. One of the most telling signs of their problems came at the end of term when Chelsy made it clear she was heading straight back to South Africa after attending her final pre-Christmas lecture.

  This meant that on the very day Harry was told he would be off to Afghanistan later that month, Chelsy was away on holiday with her brother and their friends in South Africa. There would be no prolonged goodbye for Harry, as he packed his kitbag and prepared to spend what was supposed to be six months on the front line. As the final day approached and he nervously set off for Brize Norton, his girlfriend was six thousand miles away, sipping cocktails and partying with her pals in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban.

  It was disappointing for Harry because, like any soldier, he wanted to say a proper goodbye, knowing that it could well be as much as half a year apart. So he was left to fly out on tour with the growing relationship problems spinning around his head.

  By the time Harry returned home ten weeks later he knew that it was make or break with Chelsy. The pair had spoken whenever possible during his ten weeks away. But now Harry’s unexpected premature exit from Afghanistan meant he was determined to see Chelsy and try and work things out.

  Chelsy had been pining for Harry and worrying about his safety all the time he had been in Afghanistan. When he arrived home on 1 March 2008, she travelled down to London to see him within hours. The time apart seemed to have reignited their romance and there was no way Harry was going to miss the chance to make the most of the situation.

  After being given time off by his commanding officer, he hurriedly began to plan a week away and immediately knew there was only one place he wanted to take Chelsy. Within days of being back in the arms of his lover, Harry and Chelsy were on a tiny plane flying north from Johannesburg to Harry’s beloved Botswana.

  This was the place where Harry and Chelsy’s romance had blossomed in their first year together. A place where they could spend quality time together talking through the months they had spent apart, and reflect on Harry’s disappointment at being forced to leave the front line. For the first time since he climbed on board the Chinook that had flown him away from the front line, Harry was able to put the frustrations and concerns about his men to the back of his mind.

  He and Chelsy decided to charter a rickety houseboat which would enable them to disappear into the Okavango Delta for six days of unadulterated time together. It was a world away from their troubles and the issues that had put strains on their relationship. The couple shared a two-man tent perched high on the roof of the houseboat, which kept them private from the police protection officers and skipper who s
lept below. Each morning they rose late, climbed down an aluminium ladder and on to the main deck, where they cooked their own breakfast on a small gas stove. The rest of the day would be spent lazily cruising along the crocodile-infested waterways, normally with a can of beer and a cigarette in hand.

  The office had sent me with a photographer to report on Harry’s trip, and after a few days of waiting near the Namibian border we watched them slowly sail past. They looked relaxed and at ease with each other and had no idea they had been photographed.

  As soon as we had our pictures we drove the six hours back to the town of Maun, having been instructed not to intrude on their holiday. Once again we had to find the right balance, so that we could report what they were doing without disrupting their plans. We telephoned Clarence House and told the press office what we had done but agreed to hold the story for twenty-four hours to avoid other photographers rushing to Botswana.

  It was good to see that the couple whose romance we had reported on for more than three years were back in each other’s arms, but even then wondered how much longer they would last.

  According to Chelsy’s friends, she already knew there was not much chance of a long-term relationship. One said: ‘Chelsy was still so keen on Harry, but the “prince issue” was still in the way. She and Harry shared a love of Africa and the outdoors but deep down she never wanted to be a Kate Middleton. Chelsy is a free spirit and had absolutely no interest in become a princess, with all the baggage that would come with that role.

  ‘The sight of them together in Botswana was typical of Chelsy. She didn’t care about five-star luxury hotels or being pampered by the pool. She is African to the core, happier sleeping under the stars and drinking beer from a can. In many ways the very thing that made Harry crazy about Chelsy was the very thing that would mean they never had a long-term future together.’

  While those in Chelsy’s circle knew the writing was on the wall for the relationship, for the present the trip to Botswana in March 2008 had the effect of bringing them much closer together.

  The friend added: ‘Spending quality time on her own with Harry made Chelsy realize how fond she still was of her prince. She loved the way he doted after her. In the eyes of the public Harry was a soldier and a prince but to Chelsy he was more like a love-struck puppy who adored every second they spent together. He was always so kind to her, making sure she was OK and entertaining her with his childish sense of fun.

  ‘If that was how it could always have been, there is no doubt they would have maybe one day got married and settled down. But the reality was that these times together were the exception rather than the rule. Back home she was studying hard to make the grade as a lawyer while Harry was committed to his career in the Army and duties as a senior Royal.’

  When Harry returned home from Botswana he was feeling good to have seen Chelsy, but the old issue of his Royal baggage remained. And if he needed any reminding that his position as a Royal came with its own unique difficulties, just a few days after he returned he was in for a shock. William and Harry were about to find themselves at the centre of a row which would make headlines for all the wrong reasons. This time it was a very odd decision made by William that was to land the brothers in hot water.

  With Harry back from Afghanistan, he was free to attend his cousin Peter Phillip’s stag do on the Isle of Wight. What better way to forget about his troubles than a booze-fuelled lads’ weekend to celebrate Princess Anne’s son’s upcoming wedding?

  Peter Phillips, the brother of Olympic equestrian star Zara and a former rugby player, has always been close to his cousins Wills and Harry. As children they often spent weekends and holidays together exploring the mazes of corridors and acres of gardens at the Queen’s many residences.

  Similar in age and united by their love of sport and the outdoors, Peter was close to William and Harry when they were all growing up under the shadow of Royalty. But although Peter is also one of the Queen’s grandsons, his mother Princess Anne decided her children should not grow up as prince and princess. While he and his sister Zara remain high in the line of succession, they have lived relatively normal lives away from the scrutiny applied to William and Harry.

  One of the most obvious differences between the cousins is the fact that Peter does not require round-the-clock protection from the police. Although security measures are in place, he is not accompanied by bodyguards everywhere he goes. The only time Peter appears in papers and on the TV is when he joins senior Royals at family events such as weddings and the annual Christmas get-together with the Queen.

  So when William and Harry agreed to join him on the bachelor weekend, Peter was delighted. His twenty-five closest pals were taking him to the Isle of Wight for three days of drinking, cricket, sailing and more drinking. The friends who were organizing it had even gone to the trouble of having polo shirts printed for each of the special few sharing their pal’s ‘last weekend of freedom’. Among those expected to attend was Zara’s boyfriend, now husband, World Cup rugby hero Mike Tindall.

  The stag party were all booked into a cheap hotel in the famous sailing town of Cowes and were just a short walk away from the many bars and restaurants. Peter and his chums were due to arrive on the island at lunchtime on the Friday and had booked seats for the two-hour train journey down from London.

  Details of the trip had been kept secret, not least because everyone going would be well aware of the potential press interest in the bachelor party of one of the Queen’s grandsons.

  However, The Sun had been tipped off about the weekend, and by the time the stag party arrived on the Isle of Wight we were in position, with two photographers, myself and another reporter. Our aim was to stay well back, let the lads have their fun but take pictures if and when an opportunity arose.

  The island is connected to the south coast of England by ferries, and all those arriving by train simply have to walk from the platform to the jetty, where they can step aboard their boat.

  As April days go, the weather was surprisingly good. The sun shone down on the ferry terminal in Cowes as the stag party climbed into a fleet of pre-ordered taxis waiting to take them to a nearby school. Every detail of the weekend events had clearly been carefully planned, and the organizers had booked the school’s cricket pitch for that afternoon.

  We kept our distance and watched as the group arrived at the school and started preparing for a game of cricket. As it got underway we could see Peter but there was no sign of his easily recognizable cousins William and Harry.

  Nor were there any obvious signs of Royal protection officers and their vehicles. Clearly our information about the stag party was spot on, but where were William and Harry? While it is true that pictures of Peter Phillips enjoying a wild weekend away before his wedding would make the paper, the reality was that without William and Harry in tow it was unlikely to make front-page news. At the time William was busy learning to fly helicopters with the RAF, while Harry was obviously still very newsworthy because of his return from Afghanistan.

  But there was another reason why the boys were of immense interest that weekend. After more than six months of exhaustive evidence in London’s High Court, the inquest into their mother’s death in 1997 had just returned its verdict.

  It had found that Diana died as a result of a tragic accident which could have been avoided. One by one, the court had cleverly picked apart all the conspiracy theories about her death. In the decade since she died there were claims that Diana was murdered by the British government because of her relationship with the Muslim son of controversial Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. It had even been claimed that Diana’s father-in-law, Prince Philip, had ordered her death in revenge for the damage caused to the Royal family following the break-up of her marriage to Prince Charles.

  But the inquest had exposed these and other bizarre claims for exactly what they were. At last people could stop accusing the government and the Royals of being part of a crazy cover-up and the true events that led
to Diana’s tragic death had been laid bare.

  Following the inquest verdict earlier that week, Clarence House had issued a brief statement on behalf of Diana’s sons saying they accepted the findings and hoped their mother could now be left to rest in peace. I now began to think that maybe William and Harry had taken the decision not to attend the stag party because of the timing of the inquest result. Perhaps they had taken the view that it was best they stay out of the public eye while the media interest died down.

  Despite our disappointment we took the view that we should avoid blowing our cover at the cricket match. If the stag party saw our photographers they would know that their secret was out and might have gone to lengths to tone down their busy schedule of drinking and letting their hair down on the Isle of Wight.

  We decided to head back to Cowes and get in position ready for what we had been told was going to be a pub crawl through the town centre later that evening. To reach the centre of Cowes from where the cricket match was being played, we had to cross the estuary that cuts the sailing town in half. The quickest way of getting to the other side in a car was via a small chain ferry that holds no more than a dozen vehicles at a time as it slowly crosses the water.

  Our car was first on board and my colleague was in his vehicle behind. As the ferry started to cross the estuary, I climbed out of the car and headed to speak to him. To my horror as I stood up, I instantly realized that I was being watched. The final few vehicles that had been loaded on behind us were the fleet of Royal protection officers’ unmistakable Range Rovers. Sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle directly behind was Prince Harry. I had inadvertently blown our cover and could see the protection officers smiling back at me from inside their cars.