Prince Harry: I want to fight for my country

British royal Prince Harry is determined to fight for his country if called upon to do so.

The heir, who celebrates his 21st birthday today, is currently in his first year of army officer training at England's Sandhurst Academy.

He insists he takes his role as a soldier seriously: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my a**e back home while my boys are fighting for their country.

"That may sound very patriotic, but it's true.

"I enjoy running down a ditch full of mud, firing bullets. It's the way I am. I love it."