The 22-year-old will be the first royal to serve on the front line since his uncle Prince Andrew in the Falklands in 1982.

Prince Harry graduated from Sandhurst in April 2006 and qualified as an armoured reconnaissance troop leader in October.

His regiment, the Blues and Royals will serve in Iraq as part of the latest deployments.

Photograph: Britain's Prince Harry marches during the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst,  April 12, 2006. Officer Cadet H Wales as Prince Harry is known, will train to become a troop commander, in charge of 11 enlisted men and four light tanks -- a job that will soon see him on front-line duty in Iraq.

Source: Carl de Souza/ AFP/ Getty Images