0:00:02 > 0:00:04Prince Harry - on duty,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07in the Army, in Afghanistan.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12As soon as we get a shout, whatever it is, we'll run to the aircraft,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15at which point you have that taste of blood in your mouth.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18This is Harry as we've rarely seen him before -
0:00:18 > 0:00:20at war...
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Take a life to save a life. That's what we revolve around, I suppose.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26Go on, son.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28..at work...
0:00:28 > 0:00:32One of the fights I really enjoy is with PlayStation.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Whoever loses becomes the brew bitch
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and then you have to make brews for everybody all day.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41..and at his most candid.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Probably let myself down, I let my family down, let other people down.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It was probably a classic example
0:00:46 > 0:00:49of me being too much Army and not enough Prince.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Over the last five months,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53we were given remarkable access to the Prince...
0:00:53 > 0:00:55This is my bed.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I don't really make it when I'm done here, which is a joy. That's it made.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02..following his helicopter missions on the front line...
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Make sure no missiles are unlatched,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06because that's going to ruin your day.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08..and living the day-to-day,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12sometimes mundane reality of life inside Camp Bastion.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I'll show you the homely bit.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Friends and family send packages out.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Everyone seems to think I love Haribo. Unfortunately, I do.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Away from the paparazzi, from penthouse parties
0:01:22 > 0:01:25and the royal duties he was born to carry out.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Tonight, we see Prince Harry as a soldier
0:01:28 > 0:01:31serving Queen and country in Afghanistan.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Very easy to completely forget about who I am when I'm in the Army.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I am one of the guys. I don't get treated any differently.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05This is Camp Bastion, the largest British military overseas base
0:02:05 > 0:02:07built since the Second World War.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11It stretches for 27 miles all around me.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13It's about the size of Reading
0:02:13 > 0:02:17and it's home to 30,000 people...
0:02:19 > 0:02:20..including Prince Harry,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23who is known around here simply as Captain Wales.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Welcome to our home. This is where my Army friends are.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37They'll be known as Army Friend One, Two, Three.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40They're not wearing their hats. They should be.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43It's Christmas at Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and Prince Harry is on duty.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Army Friend One, his mother needs to know that he's been smoking
0:02:50 > 0:02:52while he's been out here.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Army Friend Two is a Tottenham Hotspur fan,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57he's got a really horrible tattoo on his right arm
0:02:57 > 0:02:59but he's pretty embarrassed about it.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05These are not the surroundings you'd expect to see a prince in.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06It's like Cribs.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10But this has been home to Harry and these guys for the last five months.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13He's the worst at FIFA, he's the second worst,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I'm second, and he's the best. I'm cool with that.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Whoever loses becomes the brew bitch
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and then you have to make brews for everybody all day.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25It is great being out here.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26I'm with a great group of people.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It's away from all the media back home,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32which is one of the real negative points about the UK, I suppose,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36but you know, being out here is fantastic,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38even when the weather's pants.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- Anything we crave?- A minibar.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44A minibar? Yeah, a minibar. A free minibar would be great.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Prince Harry arrived here last September on his tour of duty.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52He's serving in the Army Air Corps in Helmand province,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55one of the most dangerous regions in Afghanistan.
0:03:57 > 0:03:599,000 British troops are stationed here,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02engaged in operations against the Taliban.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05They're fighting a war that's been raging for more than a decade.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13He's part of an elite squad
0:04:13 > 0:04:17of pilots flying British Army attack helicopters.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22This has been my office.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24All my friends keep sending me pictures from London,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27stuff like that, from the City, of their computer screens and phones
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and it's just like, no, this is mine.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Obviously, I don't send them photos.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36And Prince Harry's office is definitely more exciting.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43As a recently qualified co-pilot gunner with 662 Squadron,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Harry operates one of these two-seater Apache helicopters,
0:04:47 > 0:04:51considered to be one of the most lethal attack aircraft the Army possesses.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56On standby in Camp Bastion,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59he's always ready to get up in the sky at a moment's notice.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01We all run to the aircraft,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04at which point you have that taste of blood in your mouth.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Six-and-a-half, seven minutes,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10I think, is the quickest we've got it going.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12As soon as we get a shout, whatever it is,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16we just try and do the best we can to get up there as quick as we can.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19Once the engines start,
0:05:19 > 0:05:21that's when my job starts to become a little bit rushed.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25'You can't lift off until certain things are done in the aircraft.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26'Sighting system up.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'Fuel, make sure we've got enough fuel for the trip.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31'Make sure no missiles are unlatched,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34'because that's going to ruin your day if you have to use one.'
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Once the radios start, that's when it all starts getting quite exciting.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42RADIO CRACKLES
0:05:42 > 0:05:44As soon as you've got clearance from the Ops Room,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47straight up, and off you go, as fast as you can.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Once you're there, who knows what the situation's going to be like.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55It's only when you get up to,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58you know, a couple of thousand feet above the target area
0:05:58 > 0:06:01that you start having a bit of information about what's coming back.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10This is the first ever footage
0:06:10 > 0:06:13of Harry's Apache in action in Afghanistan.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16All sensitive information has been masked out.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Harry's job out here is to provide air support and protection
0:06:22 > 0:06:23to troops operating on the ground
0:06:23 > 0:06:26who are clearing compounds and villages
0:06:26 > 0:06:28thought to be bases for Taliban fighters.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33It could be anything from a medevac
0:06:33 > 0:06:35through to troops in contact,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39through to a priority, which is guys being seen with a weapons system,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43probably moving into a fire position to cause harm.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49then we'll take them out of the game, I suppose.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52It's not the reason I decided to do this job.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55The reason I did this job was to get our back-up here,
0:06:55 > 0:06:57and to make sure the guys are safe on the ground.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06The majority of his missions today are medical emergencies,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09rescuing soldiers injured in the field.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16The primary role for us is the escort of the Tricky,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18which is basically the mobile hospital
0:07:18 > 0:07:20that we take out to the guys if they need us.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27The Tricky is a mobile hospital set up in the 23-tonne Chinook helicopter.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Flying several hundred feet above them is Harry's Apache,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40its Hellfire missiles and rockets providing vital cover.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Our job is to make sure that the Chinook gets in and out safely.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48Out there, it is flat as a pancake, every compound looks the same.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Obviously, we've got tools and things that help us pinpoint the positions,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55whatever range they are.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58It's less stressful being up here than it is down there.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59We don't have to put on all the kit
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and walk around through the desert sweating our balls off.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Every time Harry leaves the base at Bastion,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09he's flying straight into a war zone.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12There's no special royal protection up here.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16He's as vulnerable as anybody else doing this job.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Essentially, we're doing as much as we can
0:08:18 > 0:08:20to make sure the guys aren't being shot at
0:08:20 > 0:08:23and if they are being shot at, where they're being shot from,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26then do whatever we have to do with the capabilities of the aircraft.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Saving lives and defending soldiers on the ground,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Harry's job out here is extremely important.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42He knows his brother William
0:08:42 > 0:08:46would relish the chance to be out here in the thick of the action too.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48He'd love to be out here, and I don't see why,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51to be honest with you, I don't see why he couldn't.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53His job out here would be doing Chinook missions,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57just the same as us. No-one knows who's in the cockpit.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Yes, you get shot at, but you know,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01if the guys who are doing the same job as us
0:09:01 > 0:09:03are being shot at on the ground,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06then I don't think there's anything wrong with us being shot at as well
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and, yeah, people back home will have issues with that,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12but we're not special, the guys out there are. Simple as that.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Far more soldiers are surviving from horrific injuries than ever before,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23partly as a result of the work the helicopter crews are doing.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Behind this row of ambulances is the hospital building
0:09:27 > 0:09:31containing the injured soldiers that Harry has helped to rescue
0:09:31 > 0:09:34from combat zones all over Helmand province.
0:09:34 > 0:09:35Time can save lives,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39so the quicker that Harry can help the soldiers get here,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41the better their chances of survival.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Harry's missions can last up to three hours at a time,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53leaving few options for the ROYAL WEE.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55The best thing about this cockpit
0:09:55 > 0:09:59is that in our bag, we have TravelJohns, which are basically piss bags.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Once you've been out here for two or three weeks,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04you master the art of basically peeing
0:10:04 > 0:10:07whilst basically sitting down like this, so...
0:10:07 > 0:10:10I originally couldn't do it during the training courses,
0:10:10 > 0:10:11it just couldn't happen
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and also, every time I said, "Right, I'm just having a pee,"
0:10:14 > 0:10:16the guy in the back would start doing this,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18which, you know, it's not helpful for anybody.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24TravelJohn, thank you for the amazing piss bags you make for us
0:10:24 > 0:10:28because they crystallise, so spillage is near-on impossible.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31However, if you ask one person on our squadron,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35he did manage to have a little accident, and called up...
0:10:35 > 0:10:38called up the Ops Room and said, "Yeah, wheels down in two minutes,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41"plus, could you bring me a suit? I've had a little accident."
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Why you would publicly announce that, I don't know, but yeah, anyway...
0:10:48 > 0:10:53For Harry, privacy is hard to come by at the best of times
0:10:53 > 0:10:57but his cockpit is his sanctuary.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01This is my office, my environment, a chance to be away from all you guys,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03a chance to be away from everybody else.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06What I do in here just happens, likewise in the back.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11You don't tell each other what you're doing. You just, basically, you know.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19The close-knit Apache crews
0:11:19 > 0:11:21alternate between day and night shifts.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27They can fly in and out of combat zones up to ten times a shift.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31But unlike ground troops,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34they always return to the safety of Camp Bastion.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38We're not at the sharp end because we're stuck in Bastion
0:11:38 > 0:11:42but I know there is, probably, hopefully a minority of people
0:11:42 > 0:11:45that seem to think that, you know, I've got a free pass,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49I'm in this aircraft, therefore I'm as safe as houses.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Well, you don't get a free pass, no matter who you are
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and if the Army didn't think they could get me out here,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56then they wouldn't have put me in here
0:11:56 > 0:11:59because it costs a hell of a lot, as you can imagine, to train people up
0:11:59 > 0:12:03and my seat would have been taken by somebody else. Simple as that.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Camp Bastion is much safer than the front line.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14It's a fortress positioned in the middle of the Helmand Desert.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The base is ringed by chain-link fences, high coils of razor wire
0:12:20 > 0:12:24and blast walls with watchtowers manned by heavily-armed soldiers.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Radar, cameras and motion sensors
0:12:31 > 0:12:34can monitor any movement outside the camp.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Even inside Bastion, the fear of attack is always there.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Soldiers carry their guns around with them wherever they go,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46even if just hanging out in the NAAFI,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49a social club for soldiers from all the forces.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52This is the NAAFI. Life on Camp Bastion
0:12:52 > 0:12:55is clearly made up of moments of high drama and excitement,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58but also periods of great boredom.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03So a lot of the soldiers come here, play pool, play computer games.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Over there, some lads have put their real rifles on the floor
0:13:06 > 0:13:07as they play Call Of Duty.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12'This is about the extent of their social life out here.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Get in, get in, get in.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Are you sure that wasn't offside?
0:13:17 > 0:13:18No, it's a goal.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Prince Harry, along with the rest of his squadron,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31bunks up at night in accommodation like this with his fellow soldiers
0:13:31 > 0:13:36and bathrooms made up of stainless steel showers, sinks and toilets.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Home here is a stark contrast to Kensington Palace.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43Sleeping accommodation,
0:13:43 > 0:13:45luxury at its best, I guess.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50This is Harry's sleeping quarters when he's on call.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Spare beds. It's flat, it's got springs.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56It's better than a cockpit...
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Cockpit? A cot bed, which is what all the other guys are sleeping in,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02so when you can't really roll left or right,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05you're stuck in a bit of a V,
0:14:05 > 0:14:06but this is my bed.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I don't really make it when I'm down here, which is a joy.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10That's it made.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Only when we're on night VHR do we sleep down here.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19The VHR is the Very High Readiness block - a large tented apartment
0:14:19 > 0:14:24where the four-man Apache crew sleep, eat and relax as they wait.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28A bench that never gets used.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Land phone.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33As much privacy as one would get. If you're sitting in that seat
0:14:33 > 0:14:35then you're probably speaking to home, I would have thought.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36Our storeroom.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40A lot of plastic cups and plates and spoons and stuff like that,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43which I keep getting upset with people, saying,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45"Don't use more than one plastic plate unless you have to,"
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and they are like... No-one seems to get it.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Save the planet and all that.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57We've probably got every DVD, every film known to mankind.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00We have watched pretty much most, if not all of them.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02If it is not a movie, it's FIFA.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05We're quite a tight flight as well.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Yeah, I think we are.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12When you're down here in the VHR environment,
0:15:12 > 0:15:13there's only four of you.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15As long as you all get on, which everyone does most of the time and
0:15:15 > 0:15:17even if you didn't, you have to...
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Everyone is always down here wishing for the phone to go because then
0:15:20 > 0:15:21we are in amongst it.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Watching Prince Harry living and working out here,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32it's clear that he loves getting in amongst it.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35In downtime he is always joking around with his colleagues
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and he seems genuinely excited about his work.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Not so surprising when you're flying one of the world's
0:15:42 > 0:15:44most advanced ground attack helicopters.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53Harry operates the Apache's weapons from the front seat here.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55The pilot sits behind him right there
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and the weapons that he gets to control include this here -
0:15:58 > 0:16:01this lethal 30mm cannon.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09He wears a helmet-mounted display
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and the gun moves wherever he turns his head.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17So the gun sees exactly what he sees.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24And then round here, Hellfire missiles and rockets,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27which all make up the Apache's armoury.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I'm in charge of weapons systems - a joy for me
0:16:33 > 0:16:36because I one of those people that love playing PlayStation and Xbox
0:16:36 > 0:16:39so, with my thumbs, I like to think I'm probably quite useful.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43You can ask the guys. I thrash them at FIFA the whole time.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47When you fire, you still get the cordite smell, which is bizarre.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49The whole floor vibrates.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Harry won't hesitate to pull the trigger.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55His job is to protect the soldiers on the ground.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59If that means shooting someone who's shooting them then we'll do it.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Everyone has fired a certain amount.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04We fire when we have to.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Take a life to save a life -
0:17:07 > 0:17:10that's what we sort of revolve around, I suppose.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Each Apache is worth around £45 million.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Referred to by the Taliban as "the mosquito",
0:17:22 > 0:17:26it is known to British troops on the ground as call sign Ugly.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30This is the choice platform, as far as we are concerned,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32for the guys on the ground.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I don't know where Ugly came from but it is a pretty ugly beast
0:17:35 > 0:17:37and I think it's very cool.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Harry never excelled at school
0:17:42 > 0:17:44but he took to his Apache training very easily.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51Only a minority of those who start the course complete it.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I'm one of those people that, during my flying course especially,
0:17:54 > 0:17:55I would be fine at flying.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I probably should have done a lot more reading
0:17:57 > 0:17:58but I was fine at flying.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Then every now and then, a written test would come up -
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I'd be absolutely useless.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03And that was...
0:18:03 > 0:18:07I've been like that from stage one of my youth.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08Exams were always a nightmare.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Anything like kicking a ball around or playing PlayStation or flying,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I do, I generally find a little bit easier than walking, sometimes.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Normally, a newly-qualified pilot like Harry would spend his
0:18:24 > 0:18:28first few years sitting in the back seat where the Apache is flown from.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34A more experienced pilot would command the aircraft from the front,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37operating the weapons systems.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43But that's not what happened to Harry.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Two years ago when it was all decided, it was never expected
0:18:47 > 0:18:50because being a junior captain or a lieutenant then, that I was,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and a non-grad, obviously not going to university
0:18:52 > 0:18:56therefore the Army presume you to be less intelligent,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58which is nice of them, but probably true,
0:18:58 > 0:18:59but there was a couple of us
0:18:59 > 0:19:03that got pushed forward to the front seat instead of the back seat.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06In the front, you are the gunner
0:19:06 > 0:19:10but you supposedly command the aircraft from the front as well.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Due to the lack of hours that I've got, the aircraft commander,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15in my case, is in the back seat, which is slightly rare.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18But it is nice to have Dave - he'll be known as Dave -
0:19:18 > 0:19:21in the back sort of making sure that everything is right.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Harry's abilities were recognised
0:19:28 > 0:19:32by his commanding officer in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Tom de la Rue.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36If I reflect back on Harry's training,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40he was awarded the best co-pilot gunner award on that course
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and that was absolutely the right decision that was made.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48He has been performing superbly out here.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52He really is on top of his game. He is an excellent co-pilot gunner.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Successful at work, relaxed when he's hanging around the base -
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Harry seems very settled in his Army life.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08He does have some special security out here with him
0:20:08 > 0:20:13but, that aside, he is striving to be just another Army officer.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Everybody at Camp Bastion eats here at the cookhouse.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25It is probably the most secure canteen in the world
0:20:25 > 0:20:28because it is considered a serious target
0:20:28 > 0:20:31so to get in you have to go past armed security.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34There are blast walls between each of the tables.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Unless he's on duty in the VHR,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Harry eats alongside everyone else in the canteen.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It's a chance to mix with a wider group of soldiers.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53But even here he can't totally escape the fact that he's
0:20:53 > 0:20:56one of the most famous 28-year-olds in the world.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I go into the cookhouse and everyone has a good old gawp
0:21:01 > 0:21:05and that's one thing that I dislike about being here cos there's
0:21:05 > 0:21:08plenty of guys in there who've never met me therefore probably
0:21:08 > 0:21:12look at me as being Prince Harry as opposed to Captain Wales.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Harry doesn't want people to think he gets any special treatment
0:21:18 > 0:21:22out here - a point that he's very passionate about.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25'Yeah, it's completely normal. I don't know how many times I have
0:21:25 > 0:21:27'to say and how many times I get asked by people like you but'
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I'm sure you guys have asked, these guys
0:21:29 > 0:21:31and everyone else with a camera
0:21:31 > 0:21:34or anyone who ever wants to stick their nose in is always
0:21:34 > 0:21:37wondering, "Oh, it can't be that normal." Well, it is.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45And having that normality is, in itself, very unusual for the Prince.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53A place like this may lack a lot of the things that people
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Harry's age crave - the pubs, clubs and sporting venues -
0:21:56 > 0:22:00but one thing lacking that Harry definitely doesn't miss
0:22:00 > 0:22:03is a following press pack and intrusive media scrutiny.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Watching Harry around Camp Bastion,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12it's clear he's happier in many ways as Captain Wales -
0:22:12 > 0:22:16risking his life, spending his time in primitive accommodation
0:22:16 > 0:22:19rather than royal palaces and Chelsea nightclubs.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30But the problem is he can't escape the fact that
0:22:30 > 0:22:33he is both a Royal and a captain.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Unlike other serving soldiers,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39Harry is always a story waiting to happen and not always a good one.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44A website in the United States has published photographs showing
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Prince Harry naked in a Las Vegas hotel room.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51One image shows him pictured with a woman who also appears to be naked.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Well, Vegas couldn't really have happened at a worse time.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Prince Harry had probably had the best summer of his life.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02He had been an ambassador for the Olympics, which was a huge success,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04he had been away for Granny,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07representing her overseas on tour and then he decided
0:23:07 > 0:23:09he deserved a bit of R and R, rightfully so,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13went to Vegas with some friends, ended up partying far too hard,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17drinking too much and ultimately ended up with his pants down.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Harry was snapped in the pool with girls in bikinis on a hen do.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25They allegedly went up to his penthouse
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and got stuck into a game of strip billiards.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35Harry clearly wasn't very good at it. A naked photo of him
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and a girl ripped around the world.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45You know, at the end of the day, I probably let myself down,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48let my family down let other people down.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51It's a simple case of that.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53You know, it was probably a classic example of me
0:23:53 > 0:23:56probably being too much Army and not enough Prince.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I think the view of the media was this is not
0:24:02 > 0:24:05the sort of behaviour you would expect from the Prince.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08It's not the sort of behaviour you would expect from someone
0:24:08 > 0:24:11that had just been on a big overseas tour for the Queen,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13had represented their country so well.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Harry says he let himself down but he blames the media for turning
0:24:21 > 0:24:26what was a party in his private hotel room into a global sensation.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30At the end of the day, you know, I was in a private area
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and I just think there should be a certain amount of privacy
0:24:33 > 0:24:35that one should expect. Yes, people might look at it, going,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39"It was letting off steam. It's all understandable now, you're going out to Afghanistan."
0:24:39 > 0:24:41The papers knew I was going out to Afghan anyway
0:24:41 > 0:24:44so the way I was treated from them, I don't think is acceptable.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Harry lives in an age of social media where little is private
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and nothing is sacred.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56I don't believe there is any such thing as private life anymore.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I'm not going to sit here and whinge.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Everyone knows about Twitter and the Internet and stuff like that.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Every single mobile phone has got a camera on it now.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07You can't move an inch without someone judging you
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and, you know, I suppose that's just the way life goes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18Harry's had some fun in his time and so have the newspapers.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Not every title is inherited.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Some are earned.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Playboy Prince Harry sort of goes back right to when Harry was a kid.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32He would always be getting himself into trouble.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34He was always, Diana said, "The naughty one."
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I always remember being told by one of his friends at Eton that he
0:25:42 > 0:25:45was the one that would always play the prank on the teacher.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49LAUGHTER
0:25:50 > 0:25:52I think the problem developed
0:25:52 > 0:25:55when these schoolboy high jinks became something more serious.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Nobody is ruling out another incident
0:25:59 > 0:26:02from a demob-happy party prince.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I think Harry deserves to let off steam.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12If he ends up in a nightclub, which I'm sure he will, then good for him.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Just keep your clothes on next time.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27During his tour of Afghanistan, Harry's exasperation,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31even loathing of the press has shone through loud and clear.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33My father always says, "Don't read it."
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Everyone says, "Don't read it cos it's always rubbish."
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I'm surprised how many people in the UK actually read it.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42I mean, everyone is guilty for buying the newspapers, I guess,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45but hopefully nobody actually believes what they read,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49which I certainly don't. But, yeah, of course I read it.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53If there's a story and something has been written about me, I want to know what's being said.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55But all it does is just upset me and anger me
0:26:55 > 0:26:58that people can get away with writing the stuff they do.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Not just about me, about everything and everybody.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04- INTERVIEWER:- And that mistrust of the press, how far back does that go?
0:27:04 > 0:27:05Is that something...?
0:27:05 > 0:27:08I think it's fairly obvious how far back it goes.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09To when I was very small.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Harry's mother Princess Diana
0:27:16 > 0:27:19was one of the most photographed people in history.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Growing up, William and Harry had to get used to
0:27:27 > 0:27:30cameras following them around wherever they went.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Nobody had experienced the full onslaught of the paparazzi
0:27:38 > 0:27:40quite like Diana before.
0:27:45 > 0:27:4915 years ago, she was killed in a car crash in Paris,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51having been chased by photographers.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Prince Harry is no fan of the media and, you know, he says himself,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why."
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I think both he and William largely blame
0:28:05 > 0:28:08the paparazzi for the death of their mother.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12The media should, I always believe,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15have a responsibility on how they report on people.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19We've seen too many times in the past, someone behind a desk
0:28:19 > 0:28:22write something, a story about someone, which can end up persuading
0:28:22 > 0:28:25a whole nation on people's opinions of that individual.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34With Prince Harry's Vegas fun and games filling the front pages,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Afghanistan couldn't have come at a better time.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Away from the chasing media pack and his public profile,
0:28:42 > 0:28:46you get the feeling that sitting here, in this cockpit,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49is where Harry is actually at his happiest.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56My father is always trying to remind me about who I am.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59But it's very easy to completely forget about who I am
0:28:59 > 0:29:00when I'm in the Army.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Everyone's wearing the same uniform and doing the same kind of thing.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09And all the officers get called sir, and it's great fun,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I get on well with the lads and I enjoy my job.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25It seems odd that Harry seeks normality and security
0:29:25 > 0:29:26deep in a war zone.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Contrary to what you might expect, day-to-day life here
0:29:31 > 0:29:33can be fairly mundane.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Out here it's, you know, it's a fairly simple life.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44When it's quiet, essentially we just sit inside the tent.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46We sit there and wait for the phone to go.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Sundays, there's little call for the Apaches,
0:29:51 > 0:29:53which means an awful lot of hanging around.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59We just play computer games, watch movies,
0:29:59 > 0:30:04- talk- BLEEP- and play Uckers out the side there.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Uckers - don't worry, I haven't heard of it either -
0:30:11 > 0:30:12is an Army tradition.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18I lost for the first time yesterday, while you guys were here, at Uckers.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22I won last night, which was good, very quickly.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Go on, son.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26Take that, it's a free kick.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28We are one of the flights that really enjoy the PlayStation.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30FIFA's great fun.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33- LAUGHTER - There it is!
0:30:33 > 0:30:36There's always time for a few creature comforts.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Friends and family send packages out.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43It's mostly sweets, Haribo - everyone seems to think I love Haribo.
0:30:43 > 0:30:44Unfortunately, I do.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50Fellow pilot Captain Simon Beattie has been out here with Harry
0:30:50 > 0:30:52since September.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Harry is a good guy.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57He's been round to our house a few times for dinner
0:30:57 > 0:30:58and bits and pieces.
0:30:58 > 0:30:59Here we go. It's on.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Easy to put aside the fact that he's third-in-line to the throne.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Get the ball. Go.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Go! Go!
0:31:06 > 0:31:07He's a normal guy.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10He's someone I consider a friend and someone I enjoy work with.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15'He is just one of the lads.'
0:31:15 > 0:31:18He comes in, he makes the brews for the boys, he chats, he has banter.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21He is just a normal member of Air Crew.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25'Everyone treats him as an officer in the British Army.'
0:31:25 > 0:31:28He's very professional in what he does
0:31:28 > 0:31:30and he mixes with the lads quite well.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I am one of the guys, I don't get treated any differently.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39Hopefully most people will look at me, going,
0:31:39 > 0:31:44"It's great to have him on board, wearing the same uniform and doing the same job as us."
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Harry's been in my regiment for just under a year.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53He is not treated any differently.
0:31:53 > 0:31:54My interaction with him
0:31:54 > 0:31:57is exactly the same as with any of my other officers.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04I think he's very much enjoying the anonymity that he's experiencing at the moment out here,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and getting on and doing the job that he's been trained to do.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Harry's not the first Royal to seek sanctuary in military service.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20The Royals have a long tradition of serving in the armed forces.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24But nothing's ever simple for Harry.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28Even his Army career has been dogged by problems.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34Harry set his heart on being a soldier at a very young age.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38It came as no surprise when he chose to train as an Army officer
0:32:38 > 0:32:41at Sandhurst, instead of university.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44In early 2007, Harry looked set to be deployed
0:32:44 > 0:32:46to the front line in Iraq.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Having gone through all the training,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51he was now looking forward to experiencing the real thing.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53If they said, "No, you can't go front line,"
0:32:53 > 0:32:56then I wouldn't drag my sorry ass through Sandhurst.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02The last thing I want to do is have my soldiers sent away to Iraq
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and for me to be held back home twiddling my thumbs,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06thinking, "Well, what about David, what about Derek?"
0:33:06 > 0:33:07You know.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10But his joy was short-lived.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19There have been a number of specific threats which relate directly
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- to Prince Harry. - MOB CHANT
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Militias in Iraq were threatening to kidnap and kill Prince Harry.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29He was forced to stay at home.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34These threats expose not only him, but also those around him,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Being told that he was going to Iraq and then being told
0:33:42 > 0:33:46he wasn't going to Iraq was horrific.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50So Harry had to watch all of his men from Squadron A be deployed
0:33:50 > 0:33:52to Iraq and he had to stay at home.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56I think that was the all-time low of his military career.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00BRASS BAND PLAYS
0:34:00 > 0:34:04In a revealing interview, Harry admitted the Iraq episode
0:34:04 > 0:34:07had made him question his future in the Army.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12If I'm going to cause this much chaos to a lot of people,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15then maybe I should just, you know, bow out,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18not just for my own sake but for everybody else's sake.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21There was a lot of frustration but, as they say in the Army,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23turn to the right and carry on.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25During that period of frustration,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28did you ever wish that you weren't a prince?
0:34:28 > 0:34:29Um...
0:34:29 > 0:34:33I wish that quite a lot actually, Peter. But...
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Yeah, you know, as William and I have said numerous times,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38there's a lot of opportunities that we miss out on
0:34:38 > 0:34:42as well as we obviously get a lot of chances for who we are,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46but in April last year or the beginning of this year,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50it was very hard and I did think, "Well, clearly one of the main reasons
0:34:50 > 0:34:54"that I'm not allowed to be going is because of who I am."
0:34:54 > 0:34:56So, yes, I did wish at that time that I wasn't.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58When Prince Harry wasn't deployed
0:34:58 > 0:35:01and Squadron A went off to Iraq without him,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05Harry did what Harry always does, I think, in a moment of self-doubt
0:35:05 > 0:35:09and crisis - he went out, got drunk, fell out of nightclubs all over again.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12And I think his friends were really worried that he had actually lost
0:35:12 > 0:35:14his sense of purpose.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21But later that year, the Army and the Palace came up with a new plan
0:35:21 > 0:35:24which would thrust Harry onto the front line - not in Iraq,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27but in Afghanistan - and in total secrecy.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Just a few hundred metres from the Taliban.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38Helmand was, by far, the most dangerous province in Afghanistan
0:35:38 > 0:35:43at that time, where you had massive Taliban efforts to control Helmand.
0:35:43 > 0:35:44Fire, over.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Harry was to be posted to a forward operating base
0:35:53 > 0:35:55right on the front line in Helmand,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58to fight with a company of Gurkhas and US Forces.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04An agreed media blackout for the duration of his tour
0:36:04 > 0:36:07meant his presence remained unknown.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08It was Christmas Eve
0:36:08 > 0:36:11and there was some kind of rumour about a VIP coming.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15I recall a helicopter coming in,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and less than an hour later I saw the Gurkhas
0:36:18 > 0:36:22coming off the front lines, running over to take pictures of somebody.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25If you take any longer, bullets could come in.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30And looked back and there was Prince Harry.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36'I was always hoping to get forward.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:40And I got here on Christmas Eve.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Not your typical Christmas, but Christmas is overrated anyway so...
0:36:47 > 0:36:52Within about 600-700 metres, within direct fire range,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54you had Taliban front lines.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00We had estimates of a few hundred Taliban out in front of us.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03There was constant mortar fire, missile fire,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07direct fire where they'd fire and we'd fire back at them.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11And it's somewhat like what I can imagine World War II to be like.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14It's just no-man's-land. The Taliban are sort of invisible.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19They poke their heads up and then that's it.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23They disappear and just jump down these holes or go into their bunkers.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26- Same position?- Yeah.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28We really suspected the Taliban were going to take
0:37:28 > 0:37:32advantage of Christmas and Christmas Eve, so everyone was on high alert.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37It was kind of a long night for everybody.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46This was an environment few modern Royals had ever experienced.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53Harry had come face-to-face with the tough reality of war.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- So what, the ANP went up to check his body?- Yeah.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Every soldier that's operating out in Afghanistan is under threat
0:38:02 > 0:38:05from the moment you step off, from the moment you come into
0:38:05 > 0:38:07the air space of Afghanistan.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10That's just the way it is, it's the reality and you've got to face up to it.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13The sort of joke we had was that clearly the British have
0:38:13 > 0:38:17the heir and the spare because Harry was the spare, in this case,
0:38:17 > 0:38:22and it was clear to us Americans that they knew he could die there,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25that was... That could easily happen.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32The danger was even greater when Harry left the base.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37He faced the constant threat of being shot at and roadside bombs.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50When I do go on patrols, in amongst the locals,
0:38:50 > 0:38:52I'll still be very wary about the fact that I need to keep
0:38:52 > 0:38:56my face slightly covered just on the off chance that I do get recognised,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58which will put other guys in danger.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER
0:39:06 > 0:39:09As a forward air controller, guiding fighter jets
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and artillery onto Taliban positions,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Harry was proving his worth as a fully fledged JTAC -
0:39:15 > 0:39:17a Joint Tactical Air Controller.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23If the guys are coming under a lot of fire, then I call the air in.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28My job being a JTAC means that I'm needed around the place
0:39:28 > 0:39:32to actually support troops that come under contact.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37A lot of the time the guys are engaging invisible firing points
0:39:37 > 0:39:41because the Taliban are very good at hiding in their trenches.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47His job was as critical, quite frankly,
0:39:47 > 0:39:49to the safety of the base -
0:39:49 > 0:39:52based on the numbers of Taliban, if they had tried to overrun,
0:39:52 > 0:39:54he would have been the critical component
0:39:54 > 0:39:58in calling in the close air support to prevent that from happening.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Everything in-between these canals is known as no-man's-land,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07and any movement in there is basically presumed enemy.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11Well, it is enemy because no-one lives here any more.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13And if there's anyone seeing any movement in there,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15they are fire positions.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17The amount of ordnance that's been dropped on the place
0:40:17 > 0:40:20and there's no roof on any of the compounds, there's craters all over
0:40:20 > 0:40:23the place. It looks like something out of the Battle Of The Somme.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26And sure enough, as you look at it, I lose feed.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31The Americans have arrived, all is well in the Empire.
0:40:33 > 0:40:34They pooled dogs.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I was going to go and pet one, he goes, "No, killer dog."
0:40:37 > 0:40:38I was like, "OK."
0:40:38 > 0:40:41He goes, "Drugs dog - friendly. Killer dog - not so friendly."
0:40:41 > 0:40:43All right, OK.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45They bring all that just for the meeting?
0:40:45 > 0:40:47- Probably have them with them all the time(!)- No, they're just...
0:40:47 > 0:40:49taking them for a walk(!)
0:40:51 > 0:40:54I would call Harry "Harry" and he would call me "Bill".
0:40:54 > 0:40:58There was no sort of "Prince Harry" or any kind of deference shown
0:40:58 > 0:41:01in that way, and frankly, he wouldn't have wanted it, from what I could tell.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05And I think he liked just being Lieutenant Harry
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and doing his job there.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11You kind of quickly forgot that he was a prince in the Royal Family.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15This is what it's all about.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Being here with the guys rather than being in a room
0:41:18 > 0:41:20with a bunch of officers.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24It's very nice to be sort of a normal person for once.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27This is about as normal as I'm ever going to get.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41As far as I'm concerned, I'm out here as a normal JTAC on the ground
0:41:41 > 0:41:42and not Prince Harry.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Look!
0:41:46 > 0:41:48It's very nice just to be here and be with all the guys
0:41:48 > 0:41:51and just sort of mucking in as one of the lads.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53Do you want more?
0:41:56 > 0:41:59I think what he liked was he could just be himself, he could
0:41:59 > 0:42:04metaphorically let his hair down and just be one of the lieutenants.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06LAUGHTER
0:42:06 > 0:42:08There we were, saying... I never actually asked what it meant.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10The company commander was there
0:42:10 > 0:42:12and there was some joking back and forth.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It really was good to watch him be there and just be a soldier
0:42:15 > 0:42:16that wanted to be a soldier.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24This was probably the closest to a normal life Harry had ever known,
0:42:24 > 0:42:28and due to the secret deal with the Palace, military and media,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30it was the furthest he'd ever been from the press.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33I don't want to sit around at Windsor, because, you know,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers
0:42:35 > 0:42:37and the general shite that they write.
0:42:38 > 0:42:39Shall we call it?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42It's very nice to be out of touch with everything.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44I mean, that is probably the nicest bit about this place.
0:42:44 > 0:42:45All right, that's good.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48You're miles away from everybody, miles away from everything.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51The people out here, the last thing they want to worry about is
0:42:51 > 0:42:55"Who's that?" I can walk around without actually people going, "Oh!"
0:42:58 > 0:43:00But Harry's fantasy couldn't last for long,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03and the story leaked to the foreign media.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06At 6 o'clock, over and out -
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Prince Harry's time on the frontline in Afghanistan
0:43:09 > 0:43:10comes to an abrupt end.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14He's heading home after his deployment was leaked,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17threatening his safety and that of his colleagues.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21The Prince was furious at being forced home
0:43:21 > 0:43:2410 weeks into a posting he'd long sought.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30Doesn't surprise me that, once again, it comes down to media,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33foreign media that's once again spilled the beans.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36So, yeah, it's a shame, but it's to be expected, I guess.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41After his cover had been blown,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44it looked like the end of Harry's career on the frontline.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50But the Army quickly came up with a new plan
0:43:50 > 0:43:52which would enable him to return to Afghanistan.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Harry was to retrain as an attack helicopter pilot
0:43:57 > 0:43:59alongside his brother,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02who was learning to fly helicopters for the RAF.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04The press, as always, were hot on his heels.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Was it made pretty clear to you after the last time in Afghanistan
0:44:07 > 0:44:09that it would be your first and last time,
0:44:09 > 0:44:11that it was too risky for you to go back as a soldier?
0:44:11 > 0:44:14More the fact that I think the media had said they would never
0:44:14 > 0:44:16keep their mouths shut if I went into the same job,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19so I'd have to do something different if I wanted to go, yes.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21To get out to Afghanistan again would be fantastic,
0:44:21 > 0:44:23and my best chance is to do it from a helicopter.
0:44:23 > 0:44:24Have you got off the ground yet?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26- Sorry?- Have you got off the ground yet?
0:44:26 > 0:44:29I've just got off the ground, yeah. Thanks for asking(!)
0:44:29 > 0:44:30Sorry, just checking.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34Prince Harry in Afghanistan is one thing, but as the future king,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38could Prince William ever be deployed to the front line?
0:44:38 > 0:44:40I didn't join the Forces to be mollycoddled
0:44:40 > 0:44:44or treated any different, and as far as I'm concerned, in my eyes,
0:44:44 > 0:44:46if Harry can do it, then I can do it.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48I think as a future Head Of The Armed Forces,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51it's really important that I at least get the opportunity
0:44:51 > 0:44:54to be credible and to do the job that I signed up for.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58William may be the future Head Of The Armed Forces,
0:44:58 > 0:45:00but as the heir to the throne,
0:45:00 > 0:45:04he's unlikely to ever be placed in as much danger as Harry.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06I think he's definitely got more brains than me.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08I think we've established that from school.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10But when it comes to all that, I'm much better hands on.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13- I've got more great looks as well, obviously.- Yeah. And baldness.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14- Sorry?- When are you flying solo?
0:45:14 > 0:45:16When am I flying solo? When I'm ready.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21And he was ready last summer.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24Four and a half years after his last tour to Afghanistan,
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Harry's made it back.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Despite all the media attention,
0:45:28 > 0:45:31he's once again serving on the front line -
0:45:31 > 0:45:34this time, 2,000 feet above it.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43The deal the Army chiefs came up with
0:45:43 > 0:45:47was to base Harry in the relative safety of Camp Bastion.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53It was an environment they had total control over - no enemies,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56no press, and, they believed, secure.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Flying Apaches in and out of combat areas is undoubtedly dangerous,
0:46:05 > 0:46:09but the risk of Harry actually being identified in a cockpit
0:46:09 > 0:46:10was thought to be minimal.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15If this is the only way that I can do it,
0:46:15 > 0:46:17getting back out to Afghanistan, then so be it.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20My choice would have been back out on the ground with my regiment.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23That sounds quite spoilt when I'm standing in front of this thing,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26£45 million worth, but yeah. I think, hopefully,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29my friends and family back home know exactly what I'm talking about.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33Though delighted to be back in Afghanistan,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36Harry cannot disguise his disappointment
0:46:36 > 0:46:39at not being back out on the front line with ground troops.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44The last job was for me, personally, better.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46It's a weird reality, being stuck in Bastion.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48For me, I hate it, being stuck here.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51You know, what's going on out there is completely separate,
0:46:51 > 0:46:54but as soon as you're outside the fence, all this stuff,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56it's just forgotten about.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58But it is a pain in the arse being stuck in Bastion.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06But the logic of publicly placing Harry inside Camp Bastion
0:47:06 > 0:47:10was to be questioned shortly after his arrival.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Some breaking news - at least two Americans have been killed
0:47:14 > 0:47:18in a militant attack on a major base in southern Afghanistan.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22The insurgents launched their brazen attack last night
0:47:22 > 0:47:24under the cover of darkness.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Prince Harry was here in Afghanistan
0:47:27 > 0:47:29for his 28th birthday last September.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32It was an occasion marked not by celebration,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35but by an attack by the Taliban on Camp Bastion.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Taliban insurgents dressed in American Army uniforms
0:47:40 > 0:47:44broke into the camp and destroyed six US Harrier jets.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48A four-hour firefight with Royal Air Force gunners
0:47:48 > 0:47:52- and US Marines followed. - Something we weren't expecting.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53The base is quite well-defended.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Obviously, they've found the weak point and managed to exploit that
0:47:56 > 0:47:58and get onto the base. But once they were on,
0:47:58 > 0:48:00they were dealt with effectively and quickly.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07A Taliban video claimed that Prince Harry was the primary target.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Whether or not that's true is impossible to know,
0:48:14 > 0:48:16but at the time of the attack,
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Harry was in a different part of Camp Bastion.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Obviously, the papers back home were like,
0:48:25 > 0:48:26"Ooh, this is all against me."
0:48:26 > 0:48:29This camp is in the middle of Afghanistan, and, you know,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32you should be expecting to be attacked at any point,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35and the guys dealt with it really well, and it was on my birthday,
0:48:35 > 0:48:37so it was a bit of a reality check.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45The reality is that the casualties continued
0:48:45 > 0:48:46to mount up in Afghanistan.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51More than 400 British soldiers have been killed since 2002,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53and thousands injured,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57a higher casualty rate than in Iraq or the Falklands.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07This memorial to all of the British service personnel
0:49:07 > 0:49:10that have been killed in the Afghan campaign
0:49:10 > 0:49:13is a reminder that beyond the fence, there's a war going on,
0:49:13 > 0:49:17and every time Harry gets in his helicopter,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20the risk that he faces is very real.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39With Christmas having been and gone,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Harry's time in Afghanistan is coming to an end.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51After five months away,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Harry's thoughts are beginning to turn to home.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56To be honest, it's got to that stage now where
0:49:56 > 0:49:58I think everybody really wants to go home.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00It gets like that for everybody.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03You know, we're coming up to the five-month stage.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07I miss family and friends, like everybody does.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I imagine it to be so tough for people with kids.
0:50:13 > 0:50:1510 weeks last time was like a holiday.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Just at the point you get bored, it was time for me to go home,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20but that was, for me...
0:50:21 > 0:50:24That hurt, being pulled out at that point,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26being dragged away from my guys.
0:50:26 > 0:50:27I think it was all done...
0:50:27 > 0:50:32- It wasn't done in the wrong way, but it was just... - < Look at that.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40And Harry's gone again, off on another Apache mission.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55In the end, it's not entirely true
0:50:55 > 0:50:58to say that Prince Harry's just like any other soldier.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01There is obviously a novelty to people here.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03He goes around with security, for example.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05But someone just made a good point to me,
0:51:05 > 0:51:07which is that when you first see him, you think, "Oh, wow!
0:51:07 > 0:51:10"There's Prince Harry." But then, you think that again
0:51:10 > 0:51:11the second time - by the third time,
0:51:11 > 0:51:13they just see him as one of the boys,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15and he eats in the cookhouse and he shops in the NAAFI,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18and the other thing that strikes you is that
0:51:18 > 0:51:20he's not just doing this for symbolism,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23he's not just doing it for PR reasons cos of recent events.
0:51:23 > 0:51:29It appears that when he's here, he genuinely is at his happiest.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36That could be because Harry's Army career
0:51:36 > 0:51:39is something he's personally chosen himself,
0:51:39 > 0:51:41unlike his life as a Royal.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47How long I'm going to spend in the Army, who knows?
0:51:47 > 0:51:51I will continue to juggle my time between flying this thing
0:51:51 > 0:51:55and doing the other job, which can be arduous,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57but I'm lucky I've got a job. Lots of people haven't,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59so I'm never going to whinge or complain about that.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06"The other job" is being a member of the Royal Family.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08Once he leaves Afghanistan, he'll have to try
0:52:08 > 0:52:12and balance the different sides of his life again.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15You've got to be able to flick the switch.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18I think I said a while back there are sort of three of me, as there were.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21There were one in the Army, one sort of socially,
0:52:21 > 0:52:25my own private time, and then one with the family and stuff like that.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30So, you know, there is a switch, and I flick it when necessary.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32'This is the plane. This is the plane.'
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Harry flew back to Britain and the snow.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44Waiting for him with cameras at the ready
0:52:44 > 0:52:47were his favourite people - the press.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52It's been great. Really proud of the guys, the whole squadron.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55'It's a hell of an experience. You get life experiences
0:52:55 > 0:52:57'that you would get nowhere else out there.'
0:52:57 > 0:52:58Welcome home, Harry.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00'Very different to when I was last out there.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03'I'll be looking forward to going back and seeing my family.'
0:53:03 > 0:53:05Hiya.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07I'm longing to see my brother and sister-in-law,
0:53:07 > 0:53:10as any other soldier that's just come off the plane,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12four and a half months away.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15I really am longing to catch up with people behind closed doors.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17You guys aren't invited.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23I think he doesn't like us media people.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26And press controversy has followed his return.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Some have criticised the way he appeared to casually compare
0:53:32 > 0:53:36playing computer games with operating his deadly weaponry.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40You get asked to do things that you'd expect to do
0:53:40 > 0:53:43wearing this uniform, and that's as simple as that, really.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48For the thousands of guys that are on operations at the moment,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50we're continuing, essentially, to try and do a job,
0:53:50 > 0:53:53a job for ourselves, a job for the guys left and right of us,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56and from my point of view especially, for the guys on the ground.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03British combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan
0:54:03 > 0:54:06at the end of 2014, so it's unlikely
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Harry will get another chance to go back out there.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13He'd partly gone to find what he considered to be a normal existence,
0:54:13 > 0:54:18but at the end of his second tour, he no longer knows what "normal" is.
0:54:18 > 0:54:19Normal for me...
0:54:19 > 0:54:22I don't know what normal is any more, and I never really have done,
0:54:22 > 0:54:24but there's nothing normal about what we've been doing
0:54:24 > 0:54:26for the last four and a half months.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29There's nothing normal about what's going on out there.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31In the last day that I was there,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35a seven-year-old girl got shot down by the insurgents, so, you know,
0:54:35 > 0:54:40normality is a very ambiguous thing, if you know what I mean.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42ENGINE WHINES
0:54:44 > 0:54:46It's not just because he's a prince
0:54:46 > 0:54:48that Harry stands out from the crowd.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53Not many people would choose to swap a life of luxury
0:54:53 > 0:54:56for the dangers and harsh conditions of a war zone.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00Happy days. Good to go.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03We're not special. The guys out there are.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09This young man who could have done anything,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12could have stayed in the UK and done whatever,
0:55:12 > 0:55:14decided to put his life on the line,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17go to the most austere part of Afghanistan,
0:55:17 > 0:55:18not as a press stunt,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20because it's where he wanted to be,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22and lead by example.
0:55:22 > 0:55:236-7, Roger, that's clear.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26JET ENGINE ROARS
0:55:26 > 0:55:29And that's a story that's got to be told with all the other stuff,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32and I think, taking his life as a whole,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35he's a man that deserves our respect and honour for what he's done.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41To the public, there seems to be three sides to Harry -
0:55:41 > 0:55:46the prince, the playboy and the Army pilot.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Trying to decipher which of the three
0:55:49 > 0:55:51is the real Harry is impossible,
0:55:51 > 0:55:55but one of them certainly appears to be his priority.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Once you're wearing the uniform, you're part of the gang.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01Fine, I'm the Queen's grandson and all that good stuff,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04and I'm out here representing her, but to be honest with you,
0:56:04 > 0:56:06as far as I see it and as far as William sees it as well,
0:56:06 > 0:56:09our service towards our country in the military,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12whichever shape or form it takes, will always come first.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd