The British Army is making preparations to protect Prince Harry as he gets set to deploy to Iraq, according to British media reports.
The British police protection officer responsible for Prince Harry, known as Troop Leader Wales, has flown to Iraq to make security arrangements, the unconfirmed reports suggest.
The Daily Mail newspaper claimed the 22-year-old is already referred to as a "bullet magnet" by fellow soldiers as his Blues and Royals regiment prepares for an anticipated six-month tour of Iraq.
The prince, third in line to the throne behind his father Prince Charles and his older brother Prince William, graduated from the prestigious Sandhurst military academy last year.
Prince Harry is expected to accompany his troops to Iraq in April or May, an unidentified military source told CNN.
He is likely to be in charge of 12 soldiers in light armoured vehicles performing reconnaissance missions in the desert, the Daily Mirror reported.
The Mail also reported that Prince Harry has threatened to leave the army if he was prevented from joining his comrades on operations.
"There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst, and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country,'' Prince Harry said in a television interview to mark his 21st birthday.
It comes as no surprise that Prince Harry wants to be deployed, said royal watcher Una Mary Parker.
"He has been wanting to be a soldier since he was a little boy," she told CTV Newsnet on Monday.
"It's really his raison d'etre and he's worked very hard and he's being trained at this moment, as we speak, for action."
The speculation on his deployment has sparked conjecture on the security headache that the war zone assignment could cause for the British army.
One royal source told the Mail it was a "distinct possibility" that officials would continue to oversee Harry's security amid concerns he could become a target.
A report in the Daily Telegraph earlier this month said defence chiefs were drawing up a plan to deploy Harry without putting his life or those of his troops in any greater danger.
But Parker dismissed suggestions he could be putting his fellow soldiers at risk.
"After all, he's one of the whole Blues and Royals regiment. They're all wearing identical camouflage combat gear -- hats, helmets -- (and) their faces will be painted green and brown in disguise," she said.
"You won't be able to tell one from the other. Nobody will know which is which and who is who. So from that point of view, he'll be no more putting other people in danger than anybody else in the regiment."
Amyas Godfrey, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think-tank, said Harry could do a number of jobs in Iraq.
As a junior officer, his responsibilities may include patrolling the streets of Basra, working inside the command headquarters, or training Iraqi police officers.
"It would be untrue to say he will be like everyone else -- and he'll want to be like everyone else -- but he won't be able to because he is Prince Harry,'' Godfrey, a former army officer who has served in Iraq, told The Associated Press.
A royal family spokesman has declined comment and the Defense Ministry called the report speculative, saying upcoming Iraq deployments had yet to be finalized.
Prince Harry and his older brother William, who is also with the Blues and Royals, have joined a long line of royals in the military.
Harry's father, Prince Charles, served as a pilot with the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. His grandfather, Prince Philip, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy. Harry's uncle Prince Andrew, was a Royal Navy pilot and served in the Falklands War against Argentina 25 years ago.
Even the Queen trained as a driver in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War.
As the second in line to the British crown, William -- who is also a military officer -- is ineligible for combat service.
