A top Church of England bishop has warned that Britain’s Prince Harry should not be posted to Iraq, to preserve the royal family’s neutrality in the debate over the war.
Bishop of Salisbury David Stancliffe believes letting Harry enter the controversial conflict would threaten the royal family’s traditional stance of keeping out of political issues and maintaining purely positive roles in promoting foreign relations.
The bishop told Britain’s The Sunday Times newspaper: ‘The Iraq war has divided the country in a way no other issue has in modern times. ‘In these circumstances, can it be right for any member of the royal family, even if they are serving officers in the British Army, to be asked to enter this conflict directly?’ Bishop Stancliffe, who has been one of the country’s most outspoken opponents to the Iraq invasion since its launch in 2003, believes sending Harry to Iraq will imply the prince’s support of the war and would ’surely raise constitutional as well as prudential questions’.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is also an outspoken detractor of the war, also holds similar views. Prince Harry’s deployment, which could take place within the next few weeks, has been controversial from the outset. Military officials and Clarence House advisors have discussed the matter at great length, and on numerous occasions it looked as though the 22-year-old royal would not be posted to the war-torn Iraq. Harry, who has trained as a second lieutenant with the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals, has always stated he does not want to be treated differently from his army colleagues.
© bangshowbiz.biz
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