Prince William

Prince and Princess of Wales meet with Commonwealth troops at Pirbright

The Prince and Princess of Wales have visited Army Training Centre (ATC) Pirbright to meet with troops from the Commonwealth who have been deployed to the UK to take part in the state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen.

Pirbright is acting as a holding area for service personnel based outside London, providing a means to accommodate, feed and train ahead of movement into London to deliver ceremonial support for Monday's funeral.

The ATC accommodates 750 service personnel across the defence and Commonwealth realm defence forces.

Defence personnel involved in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral and Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee have previously used Pirbright.

For their part in the state funeral of the Queen, personnel from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have stayed at Pirbright for a week preparing for their role.

The Prince and Princess of Wales spent around an hour chatting to personnel, telling them in person how much their participation means and thanking them for their efforts.

The Prince of Wales speaks with Commonwealth Soldiers at the Army Training Centre Pirbright 16092022 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright — The Prince of Wales speaks with Commonwealth Soldiers at the Army Training Centre Pirbright (Picture: MOD Crown Copyright).

There are 28 members of the Australian Defence Force supporting the state funeral.

William and Kate met troops from the Royal Australian Artillery, the Royal Australian Engineers, the Royal Australian Ordinance Corps, the Royal Australian Infantry, the Royal Australian Air Force Reserves and the Royal Australian Navy.

Sixty-four members of the Canadian Armed Forces will also be involved in the funeral.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were able to meet with troops from the 48th Highlanders of Canada, the Governor General's Foot Guard, the Régiment de la Chaudière, and the Canadian Armed Forces Legal Branch.

The Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, seen here speaking with Commonwealth soldiers 16092022 CREDIT MOD Crown Copyright — The Princess of Wales seen here speaking with Commonwealth soldiers who will be taking a part in the State Funeral on Monday (Picture: MOD Crown Copyright).

There are also 25 members of the New Zealand Defence Force playing a supporting role.

This includes troops from the Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps, the Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Royal New Zealand Navy, who also had a chance to meet the Royal couple.

The low-key event finished with the troops from New Zealand performing the Haka.

Thank you to troops from across the Commonwealth who took time out of preparations for Monday’s funeral to meet us today.

To those we spoke to from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, we really appreciate you being here. pic.twitter.com/afT2XWG0rU
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 16, 2022