Britain's military is considering today whether to withdraw Prince Harry from Afghanistan after Internet leaks revealed he had been serving there for two-and-a-half months.
The leaks have raised concern that Harry could now become a target for al-Qaeda and other Islamist militants.
The prince (23) was deployed to fight against the Taliban in the southern Afghan region of Helmand in December, seven months after plans to send him to Iraq were scrapped following threats from Iraqi militants to kidnap or kill him.
The military posted him only after the British media and selected members of the international press agreed not to report his presence until he had returned from a scheduled four to six month deployment.
The embargo was broken yesterday when German, Australian and US websites reported he was in Afghanistan.
The breaking of the embargo, a rare agreement in Britain's usually free-for-all media environment, infuriated the military.