If you want to meet Prince Harry before he joins the Australian Army, head to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Easter Monday at 9am.
The fourth in line to the throne – soon to be fifth in line when his niece or nephew is born in a few weeks in London – is flying in from the UK on Monday bright and early to start his secondment with the Australian Army.
Our favourite Prince will be touching down from a commercial flight in Sydney before transferring to a flight for Canberra. And his first duty will be to pay homage to fallen comrades in arms laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
A Kensington Palace spokesman told The Weekly that the bachelor Prince will then tour the World War I and Afghanistan Galleries at the Australian War Memorial with the Governor-General before walking out onto the main forecourt of the Memorial Grounds to meet the Australian public.
Our hot tip for attracting his attention is to bring a baby or toddler with you. Harry always gravitates to children on his royal walkabouts and will no doubt be thinking of the imminent new addition to his family, a sibling for Prince George.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott hasn’t confirmed if he will be attending, but the ardent monarchist is usually present at all royal visits.
This is likely to be the only chance the general public will have to see Prince Harry on this visit for directly after his visit to the War Memorial, Captain Harry Wales will report for duty to the Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to kick off his military exchange with the Australian Army.
“The exchange programme is something Harry has been keen to explore for some while – around two years,” Prince Harry’s Kensington Palace spokesman told The Weekly. “He has served and trained alongside Australians and developed an admiration and respect for Australian forces . He will learn a huge amount from this secondment. It will be a memorable experience.”
The Royal will be embedded with a number of Australian Army units and regiments in Sydney, Darwin and Perth for a month until around May 9th as an extension of his regular British Army duties. “This is not a traditional royal visit but a military exchange,” said Alison Reiss, the Strategic Communications Advisor to Chief of the Defence Force. Prince Harry will be Captain Wales while he’s on Aussie soil and treated like any other junior officer in the ADF.
While the media is barred from covering any of Captain Wales’ work as a soldier here, the ADF will be releasing images and information throughout the royal’s tour of duty. The ADF has put together a challenging and hectic schedule, says Prince Harry’s Palace spokesman. Captain Wales will be completing helicopter and aviation simulation exercises which if he meets the qualifications are likely to lead to him flying planes here.
He will also undergo regional bush patrols, urban training exercises and in Darwin joins Australia’s North West Mobile Force for indigenous engagement activities working alongside First Australian soldiers. Also of particular interest for Captain Wales will be meeting and working with injured servicemen as part of his ongoing work in this area with the Invictus Games and Walking with the Wounded.
The ADF is keeping the royal’s exact whereabouts under wraps for security purposes, but like any Junior Officer he will get time off so he could turn up at a restaurant, bar or footie match near you!
On April 25 Prince Harry will join his father Prince Charles and thousands of Australians in Turkey for what promises to be an extraordinary and moving centenary ANZAC day tribute at Gallipoli before returning to Australia for the final weeks of his secondment and a short official tour of New Zealand.
The Prince will miss the birth of his new niece or nephew due around this time and his brother Prince William will be playing his part in the Gallipoli Landings Commemoration Tributes joining The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh in a wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in London and attending a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.
The British and Australian armies have a long and enduring association and secondments are routine practice between our two armies starting in 1976. But this is the first time a royal has joined the Australian Forces.
