AFP PHOTO / POOL / JOHN STILLWELL/Getty ImagesTo one gay soldier, Prince Harry lived up to his duty to protect those in need.
A former fellow infantryman is praising the royal for reportedly saving him after six soldiers supposedly threatened to assault him due to his sexuality while their squad was stationed in Canada back in 2008.
Lance Corporal James Wharton, who was Prince Harry's gunner during their training exercise, chronicles the alleged incident in his new memoir, Out in the Army, and in an excerpt published by the Daily Mail, the military man recalls how he approached Prince William's brother to report the threats he allegedly received.
Wharton writes that during the four-month training exercise in Canada, he was "on track for a battering by six soldiers," and he finally decided to inform Harry, with whom he worked for several weeks.
"I told him: ‘I think I'm about to be murdered by the infantry,'" Wharton recalls. "I climbed into the turret and talked Harry through exactly what had happened. He had a complete look of bewilderment on his face. I didn't hold back: I told him everything that had gone on. I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes."
According Wharton, Harry purportedly took action swiftly.
"He said: ‘Right. I'm going to sort this s--t out once and for all."
Wharton writes that "Harry climbed out of the tank and started having a go. I worried he was about to make the whole thing worse, but he wasn't holding back. Prince Harry was sticking up for me and putting a stop to the trouble. I had been on track for a battering and had been rescued."
The royal was reportedly eventually able to smooth out the situation. "He came back 10 minutes later and told me the problem had been ‘sorted,'" Wharton writes.
Looking back now, the former trooper, who left the Army in early 2013, says he owes a huge debt of gratitude to the do-gooder royal.
"I will always be grateful to Harry," he tells the paper, "and I will never forget what happened."