Prince Harry: 'I Always wanted to be a Gurkha'

Prince is due to leave the army after almost a decade

Prince Harry has been in the army for ten years (Getty)

Prince Harry has spoken of how he wanted to become a Gurkha but missed out as the opportunity never arose.

The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles attended a pageant celebrating 200 years of service from the Gurkhas along with prince Harry last night in London.

Talking to reporters the prince, who is due to leave the army later this month after almost a decade in uniform, said: “I always wanted to be a Gurkha but the opportunity never arose.”

“Physically I bow down to these guys. They are incredible,” he added.

The 30-year-old royal was reunited with a former comrade from Afghanistan, Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, who he served with in 2007.

Sergeant Pun was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for single-handedly defeating up to 30 Taliban fighters attempting to storm a post in Afghanistan in 2010.

The prince mentioned to his father how he had been served goat by the Gurkhas during his tour. “Pa, these are the guys who gave us the goat – the colonel didn’t want to give it to me because he knew what I would do to it.”

He added: “It was delicious.”

Yesterday’s event, which included a dance performance, marked the bicentenary of Gurkha service and also commemorated those 8,000 souls who died in the recent Nepalese earthquake.