THE Queen is to attend the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst when Prince Harry passes out as an officer in April.
She is normally represented by another member of the Royal Family or by a senior member of the Armed Forces at the passing-out parade.
However, royal sources said that the Queen would be present for her grandson’s parade.
Prince Harry is expected to tell the Army today that he has chosen The Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry as one of two regiments he is interested in joining when he completes his training.
Senior officers from the army’s cavalry regiments will be at Sandhurst to attend a special regimental selection board which will interview Prince Harry about his future career. Prince Harry, like every other officer cadet, is required to choose two regiments as his potential military family when he nears the end of the 44-week training at Sandhurst.
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He is understood to have selected the Household Cavalry and the Welsh Guards. He will also be interviewed in due course by the commanding officer of the Welsh Guards.
Either regiment is seen as ideal for the prince: both have ceremonial responsibilities as well as an operational role.
Prince Harry, 21, the third in line to the throne, will be the first senior Royal to go on frontline duty since the Duke of York, his uncle, flew helicopters in the Falklands War.
Prince Harry’s decision will not be announced by Clarence House until next week, defence sources said. The prince has told the Prince of Wales, his father, that he wants to fight for his country. Prince Charles has conceded that whatever regiment his son joins it will be sent on peacekeeping duties to troublespots such as Iraq, Afghanistan or Bosnia. A senior royal source said: “Whatever happens, Harry will not be left behind. He has made clear that he wants to go.”
The Household Cavalry is unique in the Army because it consists of a combination of two regiments, The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. When not engaged in ceremonial duties, such as appearing in Trooping the Colour, these two regiments are trained for armoured reconnaissance, putting them in the frontline of the battlefield.
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The Welsh Guards have an infantry role as well as a ceremonial function and have recently returned from a six-month tour in Iraq.
Captain Vince Gaunt who, before he was commissioned as an officer last summer, was Sandhurst’s Academy Sergeant-Major, in charge of Prince Harry’s first stage of training, told The Times: “Prince Harry is a good lad. He will be an asset to whichever regiment he joins.”