Noblesse oblige

I'm not blind to the many faults of our royal family, or of Harry in particular. But I must say, this story does my heart good:

Prince Harry has been serving on the front lines in Afghanistan since December, calling in air strikes and going on foot patrols, Britain's Defence Ministry confirmed Thursday.

...

A lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment, he has been serving as an air controller, co-ordinating pilots and forces on the ground and calling in air strikes on Taliban fighters.

...

A handful of journalists were invited to observe Harry on the battlefield under the agreement they would not report the information until the deployment had ended. The news blackout was intended to reduce the risk to the prince and his regiment.

BZ to Prince Harry for finding a way to serve with his mates that goes beyond symbolism, pomp and ceremony. And shame on those who decided their own circulation numbers or viewership ratings were of more value than his safety or those of his fellow soldiers.

Update: Well, the selfish asshats who broke this story have succeeded in getting Harry sent home. I hope there are negative repercussions for those publications. (Peaceful, but financially negative.)

Upperdate: For my money, the best line that's been written in connection with this entire incident:

As far as I'm concerned, if MoD really wanted to burn some Islamist britches and destroy enemy morale, then HMS Ark Royal should be parked in the Persian Gulf with Elizabeth, Phillip, Charles, Andrew and Edward flying daily missions from her deck. That would make a great object lesson to hand down to the next generation of terrorists. "Your father was killed by an 82-year-old infidel Zionist-Crusader queen". "And did we shoot her down?" "No, she bombed your uncle last week."

Farking brilliant.