Off to War He'll Go: British Army Clarifies Plans for Prince Harry

For his part, Harry has showed no signs that he's planning to go anywhere but Iraq -- with pit stops at a couple of his favorite exceptionally expensive and exclusive London nightclubs along the way, naturally. Harry and Wills love a good night out.

Sunday's papers chronicled what all agreed was Harry's farewell speech to his buddies at the Mahiki nightclub, one of those London spots that help separate Daddy from his millions one fruity cocktail at a time. Harry, in jeans, showed up with his girlfriend Chelsy Davy, who wore a bright red dress that made her look like a Ferrari with tousled blond hair.

William, according to the Mail on Sunday, anesthetized away thoughts of his brother's impending departure and his recent split from Middleton. By the paper's scorecard, William bought a few $200 Treasure Chest cocktails (brandy and peach liqueur topped with a bottle of champagne, served in a wooden chest) for his pals, followed by at least 10 $480 bottles of Dom Perignon, a few rounds of tequila shots and some syrupy potion called Coconut Grenades before hitting the dance floor with Virgin mogul Richard Branson's 21-year-old daughter, Holly.

No word yet about whether William, 24, who is also training in Harry's august regiment, is as eager to get to Iraq as Harry.

According to the papers, Harry stood up and gave a quite serious speech about how he feels about going to Iraq.

"Whether I serve on the front line or carry out a desk job in Basra, I just want to get out to Iraq and serve my country," he said, according to News of the World. "I don't know what to expect. I'm nervous, excited and apprehensive, and I'm really looking forward to it."

On Monday, Gen. Richard Dannatt, the calm and cerebral head of the Army, decided he'd had enough of the soap opera.

He issued a statement that he had made a final decision: Harry would serve with his unit in Iraq. Dannatt said Harry's status would be kept "continually under review," and he had a quiet word of advice for his friends in the press.

"I would urge that the somewhat frenzied media activity surrounding this particular story should cease in the interests of the overall security of all our people deployed in Iraq," Dannatt said.

There was no immediate announcement from the tabloids about whether they plan to stop covering the story.

Next up: Harry hits the desert.