Editorial: Prince Harry

You can clearly see that Prince Harry is Britain´s most popular member of the royal family because if anyone else had suggested a return of national service there would have been an outcry. Can you imagine if his father, Prince Charles or his grandmother for that matter, had called for a return of compulsory military service? You can imagine the headlines! But as it is Prince Harry everyone is prepared to say that it is a good idea, while admitting privately that it is a really bad idea! Prince Harry has said that he has enjoyed his military career and would urge others to follow in his footsteps but I don´t think that Britain in 2015 is ready for a return of national service. It would also give military chiefs an additional headache because at the moment the government is proposing to reduce the size of the army not increase it. The army is also struggling to recruit reservists, the so-called weekend warriors. Prince Harry is now coming to an end of his army career but I would urge the army to try and retain his services. He is a great advertisement for the British army and could help with the recruitment drive. However, he would have to be told quietly that a return of national service is probably not the way forward. National service was stopped in the 1950s for a reason. Britain no longer needed a massive standing army. And times have obviously changed since then. Prince Harry always manages to be controversial.