In 1979, the pampered, juvenile, and fun-loving second son of Queen Elizabeth II entered Britannia Royal Naval College with the rank of midshipman. By 1981, the youthful Prince Andrew had completed his training in the Royal Marines All-Arms Commando Course and was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant.
The following year, Britain and Argentina clashed in the Falklands War. Despite internal efforts to shift Andrew to a safe desk job, he took an assignment in the war zone on the H.M.S. Invincible. Though he would be in harm’s way, his mother agreed with the decision. He flew as co-pilot on Sea King helicopters to decoy Argentinean jets firing Exocet missiles at his ship. One of the Exocets sank the H.M.S. Sheffield on May 4, and 20 men lost their lives. It was the first British ship sunk since World War II. Then, on May 25, two missiles hit a civilian container ship, the Atlantic Conveyor. Andrew was part of the rescue operation. He confessed he was “very frightened” when a rocket just missed his helicopter and struck the Sheffield and that the rescue scene was “quite horrific.”
