William rides in tank on visit to British troops helping defend Estonia

The Prince of Wales rode in a Challenge 2 tank defending Estonia against Russian aggression after telling British troops he hoped his visit would “keep everyone on their toes”.

William, wearing a camouflage military uniform, googles and a helmet, travelled in the commander’s turret of the tank as it sped across muddy terrain in Estonia less than 100 miles from the border with Russia.

He made a two-day trip to Estonia to strengthen UK ties with its Nato ally and support British forces stationed in the country as part of Britain’s Nato contribution.

The prince visited Tapa army base in northern Estonia in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment, whose 1st Battalion took over Nato duties in Estonia from The Royal Dragoon Guards.

Estonia’s President Alar Karis sat down for talks with the prince on Thursday and William mentioned their conversation when he chatted to soldiers relaxing in the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (Naafi) shop and canteen.

After showing his competitive side during a game of table football he later said: “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.”

When William first arrived he was shown a selection of military vehicles used by British troops including the Warrior, an infantry fighting vehicle, the Challenger 2 main battle tank, and the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) on the parade ground.

He spoke to soldiers stationed with each vehicle and at the Warrior, after asking the troops about their upcoming operational exercises, said of his visit to the base: “Hopefully this provides a bit of interest for you all and what you’re doing and keeps everyone on their toes.”

UK troops lead a battlegroup in Estonia and the 900 British service personnel in the country is the UK’s largest permanent overseas deployment.

Russia is seen as a growing threat in the region following its three-year invasion of Ukraine, and the Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – which border Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nation appear increasingly concerned.

British forces are deployed to Estonia and Poland under Operation Cabrit, the UK’s contribution to Nato’s Forward Land Forces in the two countries.

Trench warfare has been a characteristic of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and William’s tank ride brought him to an exercise where Mercian soldiers were attempting to spot and break into an enemy trench to capture a “high-value target”.

The prince exchanged his tank for a Warrior vehicle, which gave him a high vantage point to watch troops firing machine guns with blank rounds and smoke grenades exploding in the trench with a drone overhead monitoring the situation.

He later drove an Archer, a mobile artillery vehicle, at speed before relaxing for a period with the soldiers in the Naafi where he made the opening break in a game of pool and was challenged to take part in a “Blues vs Villa” table football match by Birmingham City fan, Company Sergeant Major WO2 Daniel Hutton.

“This is a big match,” quipped William, an Aston Villa supporter, “one of us can never live this down, you know that. I fear it’s me,” and he jokingly stopped the game after his side scored first.

William also learnt about the welfare provided for the mental wellbeing of soldiers and told some of the troops: “It must focus the mind a little bit coming out here, knowing what’s going on 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.”

Lieutenant Colonel Grant Brown, commander of the Mercian battlegroup, said about the visit: “It’s great from the point of view of our soldiers to see him 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.”