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London: Prince Harry returned to Britain on Saturday after his secret deployment with the military in Afghanistan was cut short after 10 weeks by disclosures in the media.
His father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, greeted him at Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, southern England, before they left together in a silver saloon.
Harry, a cornet - or second lieutenant - arrived at the base in a Royal Air Force troop carrier with about 170 other soldiers.
"As you can imagine it's obviously a great relief as far as I'm concerned to see him home in one piece," Prince Charles said before leaving the air base. "I'm enormously proud of what he has done."
He said Harry and Britain's Royal family were disappointed the prince had been forced to abandon his six-month tour after details were published in an Australian magazine and on an American website.
"I feel particular frustration that he was removed unexpectedly early because apart from anything else, he had been looking forward to coming back with the rest of his regiment," Prince Charles said.
Soldiers who worked alongside Harry in the Household Cavalry unit are due to return to the United Kingdom in April.
Prince Charles said three soldiers who arrived home on the same aircraft with Harry had been badly wounded. He acknowledged it had been difficult to keep quiet about Harry's work, saying he had claimed that his son was on training exercises when asked about his whereabouts.
Harry did not speak to reporters as he left the troop carrier.
His elder brother William - second in line to the British throne - is also likely to serve overseas with the military, probably on board a Royal Navy battleship, the defence ministry said yesterday.
Officials said he could be deployed later this year on a tour to areas including the South Atlantic, the Arabian Gulf, Pacific Ocean or the West Indies.
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