Prince Harry mucks in to army life in Afghanistan

He may be third-in-line to the throne, an army captain and responsible for attack helicopters worth £45 million, but Prince Harry was not exempt from making the tea in Afghanistan.

Losing the daily round of Uckers, which is a traditional military boardgame, would consign him to a shift at the beck and call of his comrades.

"Whoever loses that becomes the Brew Bitch, and then you have to make brews for everybody all day," Harry said.

The relaxed setting of the Uckers board outside the airmen's VHR (very high readiness) tent belies both the fierce competitive edge to the game and the ever-present threat of a call to scramble to the Apaches.

They are surrounded by reminders of the war they are fighting - their benches are propped up on empty ammunition boxes and the wire frames of Hesco defence barriers overhead is a camouflage net giving some much-needed shade. Empty shell cases make perfect ash-trays.

Captain Simon Beattie, Harry's flight commander, explained the Uckers routine: "It's always the thing we do first in the morning, with my flight.

"And the loser ends up being on call. We ring the bell and they make the brews, and for anyone that comes by."

The four airmen in Harry's team were so determined not to suffer the indignity of being the on-call servant, some underhand tactics were not out of the question.

Asked if it was particularly satisfying to force the prince to play butler, Capt Beattie beamed:

"Absolutely. Especially when you've cheated the whole way round!"