Britain's Prince Harry has written about killing 25 Taliban during his deployment to Afghanistan, saying he watched video footage of operations to tally the number.
In his memoir, Spare, the second-born son of King Charles makes the rare revelation of his battlefield exploits.
While he was a serving as an Apache helicopter pilot, Prince Harry was sent to Helmand province in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the US.
The tally is not something that haunts him after Army life.
Prince Harry writes in his memoir that most soldiers don't know exactly how many kills they have to their credit.
"Under battle conditions, you often fire indiscriminately," he says.
But “in the era of Apaches and laptops”, he was able to say “exactly how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number.
“So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me.”
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The final part of Prince Harry and Meghan's controversial Netflix documentary was released on Thursday morning. Photo: Netflix -
The Sussexes’ six-part show has become the streaming giant’s most-watched documentary in a premiere week. Photo: Netflix -
The Harry & Meghan documentary is a six-part series on Netflix. PA -
The documentary, billed as 'unprecedented and in-depth', is being broadcast exactly three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. PA -
The duchess appears with a towel wrapped around her hair, appearing to speak into her phone camera, saying: 'H is in London and I’m here.' Photo: Netflix -
Office workers in London watching the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's controversial documentary. PA -
A woman in London watches the docuseries. AFP -
The couple discuss racism and the breakdown of their parents' marriages during the series. PA -
The six-part series was available to watch from 8am UK time. PA -
New images of Prince Harry and Meghan released by Netflix ahead of the show. AFP -
Netflix showed the first trailer last week, just as Prince Harry's brother William made his first trip to the US as Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, prompting accusations of sabotage. AP -
The couple quit as senior working royals in 2020 in favour of more freedom and the ability to earn their own money in the US. Photo: Netflix
The Prince spent 10 years in the Army, including two front-line tours to Afghanistan.
"Naturally, I would have preferred not to have that figure on my military resume, or in my head, but I would also have preferred to live in a world without the Taliban, a world without war," he writes, of the killings.
"However, even for a casual practitioner of wishful thinking like myself, there are realities that cannot be changed."
“I made it my purpose, from day one, to never go to bed with any doubt whether I had done the right thing ... whether I had shot at Taliban and only Taliban, without civilians in the vicinity."
The decorated veteran who is patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, which supports veterans' recovery through sports competitions, said the Armed Forces conditioned him for this aspect of conflict.
“I wanted to return to Great Britain with all my limbs, but more than that I wanted to get home with my conscience intact,” he said.
The Army had “trained me to ‘other’ them – and they had trained me well”, so those he aimed at were to him "baddies eliminated before they could kill goodies".
After his marriage to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, the Prince became alienated from his closest family, stepped away from royal duties and now lives in California. He has lucrative TV deals and a book, telling all about his former life.
