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The Duchess visits 4th Battalion The Rifles as Royal Colonel

6th February 2007

The Duchess of Cornwall visited the 4th Battalion of the newly-formed Rifles Regiment today as Royal Colonel ahead of its deployment to Iraq.

The visit to the battalion’s barracks at Bulford in Wiltshire marked the start of Her Royal Highnesses’ new role as Royal Colonel to 4th Battalion The Rifles, one of seven battalions in the regiment of 4,000 soldiers from the recently-disbanded Devon and Dorset, Royal Green Jackets, Light Infantry and Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire regiments.

The 650 men of 4th Battalion The Rifles are set to deploy to Iraq in the second week of May.

The Duchess was greeted at Kiwi Barracks by regimental buglers and met a group of the soldiers' children.

Accompanying The Duchess was 4th Battalion The Rifles' commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sanders. 

The Duchess met some of the soldiers before being shown various bits of equipment which will be used in Iraq.

Soldiers in two armoured vehicles demonstrated how they would respond to a mine strike in a live exercise simulating a possible situation in Iraq.

During her visit, The Duchess went for an impromptu ride in a newly-modified Bulldog armoured personnel carrier.

The vehicle's commander, Rifleman Steven Thomas, 19, of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, said: "Camilla was a good passenger. It is the first time I have had a Royal on board. “

Her Royal Highness then had a private lunch with some of the soldiers and their families, before leaving the base.

Fijian Verecy Veilawa, who is in the Territorial Army and is married to a regular soldier, was pleased to see The Duchess visit.

She said: "I really appreciate The Duchess being affiliated with this regiment.

“I met her and she is all right, easy to talk to and really down to earth.”

Lt Col Sanders said: "It is a huge honour to have The Duchess as our Royal Colonel. Each battalion of the Rifles gets its own Royal Colonel and we think we have struck gold.

"She is so interested in what we are doing. She has got such a fantastic touch with everyone in the regiment - the families, the children and the men."

He said about the forthcoming tour to Iraq: "This is a great challenge and an opportunity for this battalion. The blokes are gagging to go. This will be our first deployment to Iraq."

Click here to read more about The Duchess's relationship with the Armed Services.