Prince William Rides in Tank with Troops in Estonia, Echoing Childhood Moment with Prince Harry

Prince William Rides in Tank with Troops in Estonia, Echoing Childhood Moment with Prince Harry

Prince William embraced his military role during an official visit to Estonia. On March 21, the Prince of Wales visited British troops stationed at Tapa Camp on the second day of his first-ever trip to the Baltic state, which shares a border with Russia.

The 42-year-old royal donned camouflage fatigues in his capacity as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment, an Army unit deployed in Estonia as part of Operation Cabrit. William met with Estonian troops to learn about their training experiences, took part in a handover ceremony transferring authority from the British Army’s Royal Dragoon Guards to the Mercian Regiment, and engaged in a field training exercise.

During the visit, he rode in a Challenger 2 tank, a moment reminiscent of a childhood military visit with his younger brother, Prince Harry. In 1989, young William and Harry visited the Combermere Barracks in Windsor, England, where they wore miniature military uniforms and practiced salutes from the top of a tank. Their tour was reportedly led by James Hewitt, the Life Guards officer romantically linked to their mother, Princess Diana, at the time.

Both Prince William and Prince Harry later pursued military careers. They began their training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, with William joining the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry. He then transitioned to an aerial career, first as a Search and Rescue pilot at RAF Anglesey in Wales, before serving as an Air Ambulance Pilot with East Anglian Air Ambulance near Norfolk.