Prince William paid a secret visit to the headquarters of one of Britain’s most elite special forces units, the Special Boat Service (SBS).
The Prince of Wales visited the regiment’s garrison on Tuesday at RM Poole in Dorset, a notice from the Court Circular has now revealed.
The Court Circular is a record of all royal engagements and listed William’s attendance at the base on Tuesday, despite no other official announcement of the trip being made.
Wednesday’s entry simply read: “The Prince of Wales today visited the Headquarters of the Special Boat Service.”
The SBS are a special forces unit of the Royal Navy, formed like the Special Air Service (SAS) out of the Second World War.
It consists of one singular regiment, which is usually recruited out of Royal Marines Commandos, which has been deployed across the world and domestically.
On October 25, 2020, SBS personnel stormed the oil tanker Nave Andromeda off the coast of the Isle of Wight after it was suspected of being hijacked by Nigerian stowaways seeking asylum in Britain.
Most of the unit’s activities are of a clandestine nature, with the government or the Ministry of Defence rarely publishing details about their operations.
Prince William visited the headquarters of the Special Boat Service
|
GETTY
Somewhat appropriately, no more information has been shared about the Prince William’s visit to the elite unit’s home.
However, the future King previously trained with both the SBS and SAS in 2008 as part of his own military training.
The then 26-year-old Prince spent time with the units to gain a wider understanding of Britain’s armed forces.
William spent around 10 days working with the SBS, who were stationed in the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking and piracy in the region.
The trip to the elite unit’s garrison in Dorset was recorded only in the Court Circular
|
GETTY
On Wednesday, the Prince of Wales continued to emphasised the importance of his military connections as he welcomed President Alar Karis of Estonia at Windsor Castle.
His audience signified the reaffirming of the strong relationship between the Royal Family and the leader of Estonia.
The pair had previously met in March earlier this year, when the Prince of Wales visited British troops stationed in Estonia for Nato operations.
While there, William met with the Mercian Regiment, of which he is the Colonel-in-Chief, who are part of the 900 troops based in Estonia and Poland to guard the alliance’s eastern flank.
The following day, William met with the President of Estonia at Windsor Castle
|
KENSINGTON PALACE
The future King also carried out engagements in Tallinn to learn more about how Estonia has responded to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
It is currently unknown if William’s visit to the SBS in Dorset on Tuesday had any relation to Nato activities.
However, he was not the only royal present in the seaside region as his aunt Princess Anne took on an impressive triple engagement.
While there, the Princess Royal was praised as a “grafter” for her no-nonsense attitude.