Prince Harry yearns for combat

Washington - Prince Harry, at 27 a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, relishes the idea of going back into combat with British military forces, he said in a CBS interview telecast on Wednesday.

"I've been there once. I've served my country. I enjoyed it because I was with my friends. And, you know, everyone has a part to play," said Harry, who spoke to the US television network in Brazil.

"You know, all these people talking these stories of, 'Oh, he's been trained as Apache (helicopter) pilot, he's never going to see active service, he's never going to get to the front line'," he said.

"These people live in a ridiculous world to even think that... I want to serve my country. I've done it once, and I'm still in the army, I feel as though I should get the opportunity to do it again."

CBS said its interview with Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, was his first since he began representing his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II on a world tour to mark the 60th anniversary of her reign.

Harry served in Afghanistan in 2008 as a forward air controller with the Household Cavalry, calling in air strikes. He later trained to fly Apache ground attack helicopters and remains in the British army as a captain.