‘Dead’ Prince Harry artwork shown

Sometimes being prince can be a real burden. Britain’s Prince Harry has trained to be a solider, but was denied the opportunity to be with his troops in Iraq because of the danger to him and anyone else with him. Harry had to accept another assignment.

In sympathy for the prince, an artist has created this effigy of the prince:

‘Dead’ Prince Harry artwork shown

A statue of a “dead” Prince Harry clutching a cameo locket of his late mother, Princess Diana, and a bloodied flag of Wales is to go on display next week.

The statue is intended to be seen as a memorial to honour those who are willing but unable to serve in Iraq, artist Daniel Edwards said.

The memorial, which features the Prince laid out before the Union Jack with pennies placed over his eyes and his head resting on a bible, will go on show at the Trafalgar Hotel in central London next Thursday as part of the Bridge Art Fair.

In May this year, the head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said the Prince would not be sent to Iraq because of “unacceptable risks” and a “number of specific threats” against him directly.

Mr Edwards, who is based in New York, said: “Prince Harry’s spirit must have died the day they told him he couldn’t serve. That’s what this memorial is about.”

The memorial features Prince Harry, with his unfired gun still holstered, laid out in front of the Union Jack while a desert vulture perches on his boot.

The Prince’s head is earless, in reference to reports that militia leaders said they planned to send him back to his grandmother “without his ears”.

We Americans might find this sort of thing morbid, but these types of monuments are part of Britain’s culture and history.

Here is Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Grave at Frogmore.

I’d be interested to hear what Harry thought of the piece!