For years, the specifics of Prince Harry’s military service in Afghanistan remained a closely guarded secret, often surrounded by rumors and speculation. However, with the release of his memoir, “Spare,” in early 2023, the Duke of Sussex revealed eye-opening details about his deployments, including a contentious account of having killed 25 Taliban fighters during his second tour. Known among his comrades as ‘Captain Wales,’ Harry initially served in Helmand Province as a forward air controller in late 2007. He returned to the battlefield in December 2012 after retraining as an Apache helicopter pilot.

Among the various operations he participated in, one stands out in Prince Harry’s memory: his first airstrike on New Year’s Eve in 2012, which he believes resulted in the deaths of at least ten Taliban fighters. This mission followed a memorable encounter with a female pilot in the early hours of December 30. Together, they gazed at the moon through a gap in the base’s wall, prompting teasing remarks from other soldiers to “get a room.” Harry recalled feeling embarrassed and hoped his colleague didn’t interpret his actions as flirtation.

After a brief moment of awkwardness, Harry and the unnamed female officer focused on their duties, soon identifying what they believed to be a Taliban-occupied bunker. Confident in their assessment, Harry planned an airstrike for the next day, collaborating with two American pilots known as ‘Dude Zero One’ and ‘Dude Zero Two.’ At 41, Harry reflects on his insistence to use a 2,000-pound JDAM bomb, a weapon with radar-guided precision and the heft of a black rhino. However, his fellow pilots questioned the necessity of deploying such a powerful bomb.

‘I felt very strongly that I was right, and I wanted to argue, but I was new and lacked self-confidence. ‘This was my first airstrike, So I just said: “Roger that”‘, wrote Harry. Reluctant to cause a fuss, Harry agreed with the pair to scale back his initial plans, with it settled that the pilots would instead drop two 500-pound bombs. The operation was scheduled for New Year’s Eve – with Harry overseeing the pilots’ actions from a screen as he watched them head cautiously towards the bunker. Making a quick judgment that the conditions were safe, the prince then summoned the pair to detonate the bombs. ‘White flash, Loud bang. The wall of the ops room shuddered. Dust and pieces of stone rained down from the ceiling. Plumes of smoke rose from the desert,’ he recalled.

Yet much to Harry’s frustration, just ‘moments later’, several Taliban fighters emerged from the trench and scurried away. ‘I groaned at my Rover, then stomped outside,’ the prince recalled. ‘I could hear the echo of their bombs. Then all was silent.’ However, in a desperate bid to ‘console’ himself, the prince felt reassured by the fact that ‘not all of them got away’. At least 10 Taliban fighters were left unable to ‘make it out of the trench’. ‘A bigger bomb would’ve really done the trick,’ he regretfully added. ‘Next time, I’ll trust my gut.’ It remains a longstanding tradition that members of the Firm serve their country by joining the Armed Forces, with then 23-year-old Harry, at that stage third in line to the throne, no exception to the rule. Yet his choice to share intimate details about his time on the frontline in recent years has often been fraught with controversy.

During Spare, the prince revealed that he had killed at least 25 Taliban fighters during his second tour of duty.It marked the first time he had specified the number of insurgents he had personally killed during his time on the frontline. Sparking further controversy, he added that he did not think of those killed as people but, rather, ‘chess pieces’ he had taken off the board and that it was ‘not a fact that filled me with satisfaction but I was not ashamed either’. At the time, former British Army commander Colonel Richard Kemp described the Duke’s comments as ‘ill-judged’ and warned that his admissions could cause pro-Taliban sympathizers to be ‘provoked to attempt revenge’ against him. Meanwhile, Ben McBean, former Royal Marine commando, also criticised Harry for publicly declaring the figure and even suggested the revelation had broken an ‘unwritten rule’.

However, during an interview with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert to promote the book in early 2023, Harry strongly defended his decision to disclose the information. ‘I think one of… the most dangerous lies that they have told is that I somehow boasted about the number of people I have killed in Afghanistan,’ he told Mr Colbert. ‘I would say that if I heard anybody else, anyone, boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry. But it’s a lie. My words are not dangerous, but the spin of my words are very dangerous to my family.’

Despite being a far cry from the lavish life of a working royal, Harry has spoken fondly on numerous occasions about his time in the Armed Forces. In April 2006, the prince graduated from his training at Sandhurst Military Academy and was commissioned as an officer in the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals. Despite his royal roots, he was keen to get out on the frontline and declared at the time : ‘There’s no way I’m going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my [backside] back home while my boys are out fighting for their country.’ As such, Harry was said to have been overjoyed when he was secretly deployed to Afghanistan, with his location deliberately concealed to protect his privacy.