Prince Harry's Coming to California

Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor; born September 15, 1984; commonly known as Prince Harry is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and his first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Prince Harry, who's a captain in the British Army Air Corps, will be heading to the Southern California desert in the near future, along with the rest of his unit, to participate in an exercise for Apache helicopter pilots.

The prince's military unit is set to participate in an exercise for Apache helicopter pilots called Crimson Eagle. Among the sites potentially involved are the naval aviation facility at El Centro in Imperial County, the Gila Bend (Ariz.) Auxiliary Air Force Base and the Barry M. Goldwater U.S. Air Force Range.

Most of the details, such as exactly when Harry's flying over, have not been released—this is a military matter, after all—but we do know what the special (because it's royal!) op is called.

Harry will be flying in an exercise called Crimson Eagle, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Word in Britain is that Prince William's brother, who served for two months in Afghanistan before too much media coverage blew his cover on the front lines in Helmand province and he was forced to leave, is readying for a redeployment to the war-torn region.

U.S. sites that may be in on the action, per the Times, include the naval aviation base El Centro in Imperial County, Calif., and the Gila Bend Auxiliary Air Force Base and the Barry M. Goldwater U.S. Air Force Range, both in Arizona.

On Wednesday, Harry was at Sizewell Beach in Suffolk to meet with the familes of four Englishmen who, by kayak, were retracing the route of 32 Dutchmen who escaped Nazi-occupied Holland by boat in 1941. Only eight men survived the journey.

The Brits embarked on the 40-hour trip to raise money for the Suffolk Foundation and Combat Stress, a cause Harry supports.

"It is appropriate that today's endeavour should be in support of Combat Stress, which does so much to help our young servicemen and women," he told reporters on the beach.

Prince Harry served two months with British forces in Afghanistan. The British press has suggested that the helicopter training is in preparation for redeployment to Afghanistan.