The Duke of Kent marks 25th anniversary of Operation Granby

The Duke of Kent attended a service in the Guards Chapel at St Paul's Cathedral to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Operation Granby.

Operation Granby was the name given to the British military operations in the Persian Gulf from 1990 to 1991, that were precipitated by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. 

The British contribution to the Coalition effort was, by far, the largest of any European nation, and included British Army regiments, Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons. In total, the British forces including about 2,500 armoured vehicles and 43,000 troops.

The Duke of Kent has retained strong military links since he graduated from Sandhurst in 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, before serving with his regiment at home and overseas in a military career that spanned 21 years.

He holds a number of senior appointments, and visits his regiments on a regular basis, including travelling to Iraq in 2006 to meet members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and in 2008 to Afghanistan and Iraq to meet members of the Scots Guards.

The Duke retired from the Army in 1976 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was subsequently promoted to Field Marshal in June 1993.

His Royal Highness is a Personal Aide-de-Camp to The Queen, Colonel of the Scots Guards, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Royal Colonel of 1st Battalion The Rifles, and Colonel-in-Chief of the Lorne Scots Regiment (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment) - in Canada. He is also Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, in which he served in his youth.

In the Royal Air Force he is an Honorary Air Chief Marshal, and Honorary Air Commodore of Royal Air Force Station Leuchars in Fife, Scotland.