Prince Harry will spend four weeks with the Australian military before he leaves the British armed forces in June.
The fourth in line to the British throne will be based in regiments in Sydney, Darwin and Perth, starting from April.
The news confirms rumours that captain Harry Wales, as he is known in the army, would visit Australian shores after leaks surfaced in the British media two weeks ago.
The chief of defence, air chief marshal Mark Binskin, insists Harry will be kept busy.
“We have prepared a challenging program that will see captain Wales deploy on urban and field training exercises, domestic deployments, as well as participate in Indigenous engagement activities,” Binskin said in a statement released on Tuesday. “The attachment will also provide captain Wales with an opportunity to gain greater insight into our army’s domestic operating environment and capabilities.”
“While all our units are highly capable, we have selected those units that best utilise captain Wales’s skill sets and give him some experience of the diverse range of capability we have within the Australian defence force,” Binskin said.
“Importantly, we are pleased that captain Wales will be able to see first-hand the work the ADF is doing to support wounded, injured and ill members,” Binskin said.
The defence chief paid tribute to Australia and Britain’s shared military history, and praised the royal’s deployment as a way of strengthening relations between the allies.
“It is also an opportunity for Australian army personnel to learn from their British counterpart and I know our diggers will welcome captain Wales into the ranks when he arrives in Australia next month,” Binskin said.
