Party Time Is Over for Playboy Prince Harry

May 6, 2005 — -- Britain's Prince Harry, who sparked a firestorm of criticism when he showed up at a costume party dressed as a Nazi, will be donning an entirely different uniform when he enters the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

The 20-year-old prince is due to report at Sandhurst, the British version of West Point, on Sunday to begin a grueling 12-month training course as an officer cadet.

Harry, younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is third in line to the throne, but officials insist he won't be getting special treatment.

"Prince Harry will be treated like every other cadet at Sandhurst," said a statement from Clarence House, Prince Charles' residence. "That's what he wants, and that's what Sandhurst wants."

Being treated like every other cadet means Harry will have to get up at 5:30 in the morning. In addition to undergoing physical training and firing practice, he'll have some course work, which could prove difficult. (He reportedly flunked a basic computer test for Sandhurst.) And the young prince can expect to undertake such menial tasks as polishing his boots.

His existence won't be completely Spartan, however. All cadets get a single room, albeit a small one, with a shower, sink and bath. He can bring in his own television and other comforts.

When he begins his military career, Harry will have to curtail the playboy behavior that landed him on tabloid front pages several times over the past year. Life in the barracks may also cast a damper on his romance with Chelsy Davy, a student at Cape Town University in South Africa.

Newspaper reports have screamed that Harry is besotted with the 19-year-old blonde, who is not exactly royal watchers' idea of future princess material. One reason is that her father, a multimillionaire who owns a huge game farm in Zimbabwe, is said to have ties to that country's dictator, Robert Mugabe.

Nevertheless, Harry flew to Botswana to spend some of his precious last free days with Davy before boot camp begins. During his first five weeks of training, the prince will get no days off, so they won't see each other for some time.