The Prince of Wales has arrived in Estonia for the start of a two-day visit to show support for UK troops guarding Nato’s border with Russia.
Prince William will begin his trip on Thursday by sitting down for talks in the capital Talinn with Estonia’s president Alar Karis.
William is travelling to Estonia predominantly in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment – which is taking over Nato defence duties in the country from the Royal Dragoon Guards.
On the second day of the visit, the royal will travel to attend a handover ceremony at the Tapa Army Base, which houses the UK’s largest permanent overseas deployment. There are around 800 British service personnel in total in Estonia.
William will meet both soldiers from his regiment and Estonian troops based at Tapa, where forces are stationed ready to defend Nato’s eastern flank.
Estonia’s defence minster Hanno Pevkur told ITV News: “The reality is we cannot change our neighbour – our neighbour is very hostile towards its neighbours, this is our response to how Russia is acting at the moment.”
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