Prince Harry with the Gurkhas

Berkley

Berkley

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You've probably seen the news reports about Prince Harry being recalled from Afghanistan since the press reported his presence. Now the stories that couldn't be printed are coming out with some interesting details.
While the Royal family was gathering for its traditional get-together at Sandringham on Christmas Day, Prince Harry was having his first taste of true front line life.
There were no presents, no tree and definitely no mistletoe or brandy for the 23-year-old who was in Helmand Province at the start of his first operational tour with the army.
He spent Christmas Day in a former Taliban madrassa with bullet-holes peppering the walls, sleeping on a camp bed and washing outdoors in icy conditions.
But while he missed out on a helping of rich Sandringham-reared turkey this time, there were plenty of scrawny Afghan chickens on offer - freshly slaughtered by Gurkhas with their fearsome kukri knives.
Harry flew out to Afghanistan in mid-December, too late for the last festive post to reach the country. No sooner had he settled in at the isolated Forward Operating Base Dwyer, headquarters of the battlegroup headed by his own Household Cavalry Regiment, than he was asking if he could spend Christmas Day with the Gurkhas at Fob Delhi 11km away.
“I was hoping to come down here for Christmas Day to be with the Gurkhas,” Harry explained. “I don't know why, it was just something I wanted to do, just to be with them.
“They don't really celebrate Christmas that much but we had some fantastic games which we played in the yard there.”
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Gotta love this line.

But while he missed out on a helping of rich Sandringham-reared turkey this time, there were plenty of scrawny Afghan chickens on offer - freshly slaughtered by Gurkhas with their fearsome kukri knives.
 
It appears that Prince Harry has his own fearsome kukri:
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New York times slide show has a similar picture, without the "resume" shading. Good handle pic.

Choice is very interesting - pretty long blade, and it doesn't look like it would be easily accessible without removing the pack. I wonder if the sheath is just slid under PALS-type webbing, or if the mounting is more customized than that.
 
Thanks - pic 3 of the NYT slideshow has a good shot of the handle. Appears to be a wooden-handled chainpuri with a brass keeper.
 
Harry should start his own collection of H.I. Khukuri's, they are after all the royal Khuk's.
 
Tohatchi NM said:
Choice is very interesting - pretty long blade, and it doesn't look like it would be easily accessible without removing the pack. I wonder if the sheath is just slid under PALS-type webbing, or if the mounting is more customized than that.
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Looks more like Body armor than a pack.
 
Thanks for posting the pic, Yvsa. I was thinking Chitlangi myself, but it doesn't have the cross-hatching on the handle that usually shows up on the HI model. Wonder if Bura made that one. :)
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Prince Harry, huh?

Wish some of our senators or their sons had the balls to go on the firing line.
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I think Sen. Joe Bidens( D )Delaware son is either in Iraq or Afghanistan, and I may be wrong but I think Sen Jim Webb(D) Virginia son is also either in one of the two.
 
It looks like a Molle plate carrier, with the Khuk secured to the hydration pocket.
In English, ballistic protective gear.
 
I applaud him for putting aside his royalty and just being one of the chaps putting their lives on the line. You know the Queen Mum probably doesn't approve.
 
Actually, the Queen is reported to have told him to go and fight.

He's a party kid but at least he is serving, unlike so many of our own politicians' kids.
 
I wonder what the are the chances of it being an HI Knife?
Great handle.
He serves as English royalty has done throughout history. Which is a stone cold trip. Maybe he'll meet the Romney boys someday...
 
one of my favourites was henry V, another party prince who was villified as as a scoundrel and waste of time by his contemporaries, he liked to party and make the rounds of the working class pubs of the time.

when he became king, he had to prove himself, so he took a small force to france to recapture a small coastal city from the french. he did not succeed in the end, and was forced to retreat to calais further north along the coast where he planned to evacuate back to england.

the french decided to stop him for good, and forced him on a long march, most of henry's troops got the runs (the big D) and by the time they found a way across the main river in the way, they were starving, sick and of low morale. the french, secure in their gallic superiority, meanwhile built up a large force of up to 30,000 knights, men at arms and crossbowman to oppose the 6,000 english, most of which were (to the french) useless low class peasants. they met at agincourt. the rest is history.

(they made a movie out of shakespear's Henry V near the end of ww2 with lawrence olivier. many of the soldiers were american and british wounded recovering in ireland where it was filmed. you can tell the yanks as they would wear their wide-rimmed helmets on the back of their heads. worth watching if you come across it, it was one of the earliest color movies too.)

there have been royals serving in most wars, prince andrew in the falklands was the one before harry, a number in ww2, ww1, boer and zulu wars, etc. some got killed.
 
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