The King lightheartedly remarked today that he was pleased to be ‘out of my cage’ as he embarked on his first military engagement since announcing a return to public-facing duties.
Charles interacted with military personnel and their families at a training base for the Army’s Royal Engineers in Surrey, while his son Prince William carried out engagements in Cornwall and his wife Queen Camilla hosted a reception for an animal charity in London.
During one moment, Charles jovially asked a group of parents: ‘I’m glad I got all these children out of school, are you going back after?’ To which a child replied: ‘No, day off today.’ Charles then quipped: ‘Oh, you see? I do have my uses occasionally.’
Meanwhile, as Prince Harry prepared to depart for Nigeria after a brief visit to London, during which he attended various Invictus Games events, William visited Newquay in the afternoon to inspect the Duchy of Cornwall’s inaugural housing project aimed at combating homelessness in Nansledan.
Later, he visited Fistral Beach, conversing with young lifeguards and playing volleyball, even signing the plaster cast of a nine-year-old boy named Phoenix Kanes. Meanwhile, back in London, Camilla mingled with guests and miniature ponies as she hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Brooke, a charity dedicated to improving the welfare of working horses, donkeys, and mules.
In Surrey, Charles apologized to the Army for the impromptu visit but expressed his eagerness to come as soon as he was ‘allowed out of my cage.’ He made these remarks during a visit to the 3 Royal School of Military Engineering (3RSME) at Gibraltar Barracks in Minley this afternoon.
The King, who serves as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Engineers, was welcomed by Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson and Major General Eldon Millar before receiving a salute from a Quarter Guard consisting of officers from the school.
As he was led into the officers’ mess by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Grant, commanding officer of 3RSME, the King said to him: ‘I do apologise for taking you by surprise, when this opportunity appeared and I had been allowed out of my cage, I wanted to come to have a look.’
Lt Col Grant said: ‘We only had six days to pull this together but the only answer from us was ‘yes’. There was a palpable sense of excitement as you saw the units spark into life for the visit.’
