By the time he returned for duty in Afghanistan, Prince Harry had built up a reputation as a brilliant pilot - even tipped as one of the best to come through the Army's ranks.
However, after completing his training at Sandhurst, the promising lieutenant was also required to operate weaponry and had previously been pictured firing a .50 caliber machine gun.
The prince's first tour in 2008 was conducted in secret, with the British press agreeing to a blackout on reporting, but during his second deployment to Helmand province in 2012, the media were welcomed and he even gave a tour of his camp.
Showing journalists around his living quarters, he introduced two of his pals, who were playing a game of FIFA in front of a Union Jack flag.
Asked how he was handling operating military weapons, he said it was a "joy, adding: "I'm one of those people who loves playing PlayStation and Xbox. So with my thumbs I like to think I’m probably quite useful... You can ask the guys I thrash in FIFA all the time."
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The throwaway comment sparked a backlash and, unusually, even drew a stinging response from the Taliban.
After the interviews were broadcast, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, said Harry was a “coward” for only speaking only after he was out of harm’s way.
“To describe the war in Afghanistan as a game demeans anyone, especially a prince, who is supposed to be made of better things,” he said.
Back home, the interview was also seized upon by commentators, with Harry Mount writing in The Telegraph that while Army officers may speak casually in such terms, the young solider needed to remember that he was also third-in-line to the throne at the time.
"He isn’t like other soldiers, much as he'd like to be," he wrote.
Harry's remarks were also described as an "unnecessary own goal" after he said that Apache helicopter pilots were often required to "take a life to save a life".
A senior officer told The Telegraph: “No one in the Army, especially an officer, should be so dismissive about taking life. I saw the interviews and thought 'why did you say that?’. He clearly has not learnt to engage brain before mouth.”
Nonetheless, Harry's 10 years with the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals were widely regarded as an admirable and successful spell for the royal.
Indeed, while training as a pilot in California ahead of his second tour to Afghanistan, the prince reportedly stunned instructors by finishing top of his class.
A senior British Army source told The Sun: "It sounds like a con, but Harry is genuinely shaping up to be one of the best young Apache pilots this country has ever seen.
"His US instructors have to treat him the same as everyone else, as we all do in the British Army.
"But they have turned round and said, 'My God, this guy is the real deal.' There are many skills needed to be a top-drawer Apache pilot, but apparently it's Harry's flying that is particularly impressive."
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