William to meet Estonia’s president at start of two-day visit to Baltic state
The Prince of Wales will tour the Baltic state on Thursday and Friday mainly in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment.
The Prince of Wales will meet Estonia’s president Alar Karis when he begins a two-day visit to the Baltic state.
The two men will sit down for talks in the capital Tallinn at the start of William’s trip, made 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.
Estonia is on Nato’s front line with Russia, with British troops working with allies to provide a deterrent to aggression in the region.
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.”
During day two of the visit, William will travel to Tapa Army Base where British forces are stationed ready to defend Nato’s eastern flank and meet soldiers from his regiment and Estonian troops.
The British forces at Tapa are the UK’s largest permanent overseas deployment and there are around 800 UK service personnel in total in Estonia.
William’s visit comes as Europe’s major nations including the UK prepare to step up spending on their armed forces in response to the changing world order ushered in by US President Donald Trump.
Russia is seen as a growing threat in the region following its three-year long invasion of Ukraine, and the Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – which border Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nation appear increasingly concerned.
President Karis has been prominent among those giving military equipment and political support to Ukraine.
Later on Thursday the prince will also visit a school founded by the Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia in May 2022 to respond to the war in Ukraine.
He will meet teachers from Ukraine to hear about their experiences at the school, and how they have helped students settle in Tallinn and looked after their mental wellbeing.
The prince founded his Earthshot Prize to help recognise and scale-up solutions to repair the planet, and he will also attend an event to learn about renewable energy start-ups.
