A friend of Prince Harry is reportedly being kicked out of the army for failing a drug test

BBC/Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images/Business Insider

Corporal Frankie O’Leary, a friend of Prince Harry, is reportedly being kicked out of the army after failing a drug test.
O’Leary, who served with Harry in Afghanistan in 2007, tested positive for cocaine and is now in the process of being discharged from his base in London, according to the Daily Mail.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed to INSIDER that four soldiers in O’Leary’s regiment had been discharged for failing a drug test, but did not specify their identities.
A source close to O’Leary told the Mail that the mistake "has cost him his whole career."
The 32-year-old rode in the cavalry escort at Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle last year.
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A friend of the Duke of Sussex is being barred from the army after testing positive for cocaine in a recent drug test, The Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Corporal Frankie O’Leary served with Prince Harry as a radio operator in Afghanistan back in 2007.

The 32-year-old also rode in the cavalry escort at Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding at St George’s Chapel last year, and gave an interview to the BBC in the run-up to the ceremony.

John Stillwell/ Pool/ Tim Graham Picture Library/ Getty Images.

O’Leary is reportedly in the process of being removed from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, based at the Hyde Park Barracks in London.

A close army friend of O’Leary — who spoke anonymously to the Daily Mail — said that the mistake has "cost him his whole career."

"He just feels he has let down his family, friends, and the regiment," the source said.

"This has cost him his whole career, it’s a pretty harsh penalty. There aren’t many jobs where you would get sacked for recreational drugs use."

BBC

The Ministry of Defence confirmed to INSIDER that four soldiers serving within the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment failed the compulsory drug test, though it would not comment on their identities.

The UK government announced last year that the British Army would introduce a zero-tolerance policy to drug use.

The old rules allowed soldiers to be readmitted if they passed a fresh test. But under the new system, anyone who has failed a test will no longer have this option.

"The Army has a zero tolerance drugs policy and will not tolerate misuse of drugs in any form or at any time. Any personnel caught taking drugs will be discharged," the spokesperson told INSIDER.

"We can confirm four soldiers from the Household Calvary Regiment have failed a compulsory drugs test.

"The taking of drugs is incompatible with military service and damages operational effectiveness. The armed forces maintain a comprehensive programme of compulsory random drugs testing to ensure maximum deterrence."

In an interview last year at the time of Harry and Markle’s wedding, O’Leary said Harry had helped him get together with his now-wife, Niina.

Recalling a time when the pair were stationed in Windsor together, he said, according to The Times of London: "He rather kindly helped me get in well with a young lady. He has seen me walking with the young lady, unbeknownst to me he was driving on his own, no security detail, just going for a spin like you do as an English prince.

"He wound the window down and said, ‘See you later, Frank.’ I was like, ‘See you later, sir.’

"I carried on walking. The young lady was a few steps behind me, with her jaw on the floor. ‘Was that…?’ I just played it off as cool. ‘Of course it was. Does that not happen to you?’"

According to the Mail, the two have not spoken recently.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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