Prince Harry by Duncan Larcombe

Author:Duncan Larcombe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

THE ‘PAKI’ ROW

What a difference a year makes! It was Christmas 2008 and Prince Harry strolled beside his brother William as they joined their grandmother the Queen for the traditional Royal get-together at her Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Just twelve months earlier Harry was in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The press knew he was there, but under the blackout agreement, the general public had no idea. Even the thousands of flag-waving Royalists who make the Christmas Day pilgrimage to Sandringham every year to watch the Windsors hadn’t seemed to notice when Harry was missing from his family’s number in 2007. While the Royals were tucking into a festive feast, the third in line to the throne was about to be treated to a curried goat made by the Gurkha soldiers he was serving with in the war zone.

Now, a year on, the crowds outside St Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham whooped with delight as they saw one of their favourite Royals stroll past. At these set-piece family occasions Harry is always one of the major attractions. As soon as he comes into view they shout his name in the hope of catching his eye and receiving a wave or a cheeky smile. At times when you are an observer it can almost feel quite embarrassing seeing how Harry’s popularity eclipses that of his fellow Royals.

By 2008 his popularity with the British public had soared. He was the rock and roll prince who wore his heart on his sleeve and the public couldn’t get enough of him. Crass outfits, drunken escapades and a seemingly turbulent love life did nothing to diminish the public’s adoration of Diana’s youngest son.

And in 2008 there was even more reason for the crowds to shout Harry’s name. By then they were all aware of how he had served his country in the front line. The fact he had missed the previous year because of his role as a soldier was not lost on the gushing members of the public. As ever Harry played to the crowd, waving and smiling and poking fun at his brother William, who was sporting a beard for the first time. This was Harry at his best. This was the cheeky young prince that of all those who travel to Norfolk on Christmas Day out of a sense of patriotic zeal had come to see.

For his part, Harry had reason to feel good. He had passed his flying grading and was just weeks away from embarking on a new chapter in his life as a trainee military helicopter pilot. But as is so often the case with the Royals, he was blissfully unaware that in less than three weeks’ time he would be splashed all over the front pages again. TV and radio stations all over the world would be dragging out the old questions about his judgement and suitability as a senior Royal.

For once Harry could be forgiven for not seeing this coming. The storm that was about to engulf him would stem from something stupid he had done more than three years earlier.

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