Prince Harry withdrawn from Afghanistan

LONDON: The Defense Ministry announced Friday that Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, would have to come home from Afghanistan because it was too risky for him to stay there.

Harry, 23, has been in Helmand Province with the British Army since December with the knowledge of most of the British media, which agreed to keep the news secret for security reasons. Details of his deployment became widely known only after they were reported by The Drudge Report on Thursday and the British media decided that the agreement was off.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that although Harry had been expected to remain in Afghanistan for a few more weeks with his unit from the Household Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup, "the situation has now clearly changed."

As a result, the chief of the defense staff, Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, had decided "to withdraw Prince Harry from Afghanistan immediately," the ministry said.

"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 statement added.