Prince Harry has left Afghanistan after a 10-week posting there and is on his way back to Britain, the defence ministry has confirmed.

The 23-year-old prince had been fighting the Taliban with his British army unit in Afghanistan.

The decision to return him to the United Kingdom came after Australian women’s magazine New Idea and subsequently a US website broke a news embargo on his presence in Afghanistan.

The embargo had been imposed for security reasons when the prince was deployed mid-December.

Following widespread publicity in Britain and around the world, reports emerged that intelligence sources were aware of a series of specific threats to Harry and those serving with him.

“The Ministry of Defence can confirm that Prince Harry left Afghanistan earlier this evening,” the ministry said in a statement.

“He is now on his way home to the United Kingdom.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain was doing the right thing by deciding to bring the prince home.

“Obviously security considerations come first and that has been the deciding factor,” he said. “It’s a decision that has been made by our Defence staff and I think everybody will respect that to be the right decision.” (via ABC News)