The Princess of Wales visits the Irish Guards at Salisbury Plain

The Princess of Wales has visited the 1st Battalion Irish Guards for the first time since becoming Colonel last year, taking over from her husband The Prince of Wales.

The Irish Guards, formed by Queen Victoria in 1900, are experts in infantry combat. Their specialisms include reconnaissance, engaging enemy troops with machine guns and mortars, and anti-tank operations.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness heard first-hand about the work that the Irish Guards are carrying out on the Salisbury Plain Training Area, and took part in battlefield casualty drills to deliver care to injured soldiers during a casualty simulation exercise.

The Princess met Guardsmen of Number One and Number Two Company, who have been recently deployed on Security Force Assistance tasks across East Africa in which they train and assist foreign forces. Tasks in the programme include training park rangers on counter-poaching.

The Princess also joined members of Number Three Company to watch a medical training and casualty exercise. This included a brief on Counter-Explosive Ordnance – the de-mining training which is currently being delivered by the Irish Guards to Ukrainian Armed Forces.