The Prince of Wales donned army fatigues to take part in a trench warfare training exercise alongside British troops in Estonia, riding in two tanks amid heavy machine gun fire and grenade smoke.
Prince William joined soldiers from the Mercian Regiment at Tapa Camp, on the front line of Nato’s defence against Russia, during his second and final day in the country.
The base is 80 miles from the Russian border and home to 900 UK service personnel, the Army’s largest deployment overseas.
In temperatures hovering above 0C, the Prince clambered into a Challenger 2 tank to be briefed on the exercise, later admitting that the vehicle “packs quite a punch.”
He then switched to a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle to travel out into the field, seated in the commander’s turret to get an “eagle-eye view” of the unfolding drama.
On arrival, he joined soldiers trying to spot and break into an enemy trench before capturing “high-value target” enemy troops.
The Prince, who is Colonel in Chief of the Mercian Regiment, had the scene explained to him by Major James McNeil as gunfire sounded and smoke occasionally blocked the view of the troops.
The Prince said he had been speaking to the “Challenger 2 boys” and asking questions about the weaponry used in the demonstration.
White smoke grenades were thrown into the trench to obstruct the enemy’s view, while yellow smoke grenades were used to indicate the front-line position of the allied troops. A drone was sent up overhead to give the troops a better view of the battle scene.
The Prince told some of the other soldiers later: “I’ve probably churned up quite a lot of the mud here in the Challenger 2 and the Warrior, I made a bit more of a mess.”
Following the demonstration, the Prince drove an Archer – a mobile howitzer carrying a 155mm field gun – before heading to the welfare department to hear about the emotional and mental health support available to soldiers on the base.
He promised to supply a fridge after hearing that one was needed. He also asked if they had a toastie machine, noting how much he “loved cheese toasties”.
As he chatted to four soldiers who had recently arrived in Estonia, he acknowledged that the heightened political tensions with Russia would make a difference to their general outlook.
He said: “It must focus the mind a little bit coming out here, knowing what’s going on in the rest of the world, the context.
“And in fact, the Russian border is only a few hundred miles from here… it does feel like it’s a bit more of an operational environment rather than just training.”
The Prince posed with soldiers as he prepared to join troops in a trench-clearing exercise Credit: Victoria Jones/PA
He added: “We were saying, it’s quite a useful exercise in itself, just viewing what’s gone on in Ukraine, seeing all the kinds of terrain they’re operating in and understanding the pros and cons of what’s gone on before.
“It’s quite a lot of things to be thinking about while you’re operating out here and does focus the mind a little bit… what the challenges are coming up.”
The Prince’s last stop was the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute’s canteen, where he played table football and pool with some of the soldiers.
“It’s my first time in Estonia,” he told them. “The president was saying to me yesterday how important it is that you guys are here. It goes right to the top of Estonian society.”
The Prince also expressed astonishment that they had a sauna on the base. He said: “That’s a new thing on me. I now have an image of you all in the sauna. Lots of sweaty soldiers is not one to think about.”
Kensington Palace sources said the Prince’s visit to Estonia could not have been more timely Credit: Victoria Jones/PA
Earlier, he met Estonian troops and took part in a handover ceremony between the Royal Dragoon Guards and the Mercians as the latter began their six-month deployment.
Lt Col Grant Brown, the commander of the Mercian, said: “It’s great from the point of view of our soldiers to see him [the Prince] and to know that he cares about what it is that we do. And clearly he raises our profile which is great for recruiting and great for retention.”
CSM Daniel Hutton said: “It’s morale-boosting. I think they [the troops] enjoyed him coming out here, bearing in mind his connection to the regiment.
“It’s always nice for the soldiers to get to meet him, especially in a natural environment where they’re just doing what they would normally.”
The brief trip was considered a “crucial” and timely opportunity to reassure Estonians of the UK’s commitment to their own security and to reaffirm the Prince’s support for Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Prince praised the “resilience” and “spirit” of Ukrainians as he met refugees who had fled their war-torn country to seek refuge in Estonia.
