King glad to be ‘out of his cage’ on first military visit since return
‘We only had six days to pull this together – but the only answer from us was “yes”’
THE King has said he is glad to be “out of my cage” as he embarked on his first military engagement since announcing a return to public duty.
He paid a last-minute visit to the 3 Royal School of Military Engineering (3RSME), the training base for the Army’s Royal Engineers, meeting military families.
He apologised for seizing the opportunity to come without much warning, after doctors gave him clearance to return to some public duties. The King, who is Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Engineers, was met by the Lord Lieutenant Nigel Atkinson and Major General Eldon Millar before he received a salute from a Quarter Guard comprising officers from the school.
As he was led into the officers’ mess by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Grant, commanding officer of 3RSME, the King said: “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.” Speaking afterwards, Lt Col Grant said: “We only had six days to pull this together but the only answer from us was ‘yes’.”
Since announcing his return, the King has visited fellow cancer patients as they had their own chemotherapy treatments in hospital, and hosted a Buckingham Palace garden party. In the next few weeks he is expected to include Trooping the Colour, the 80th anniversary of D-day, and Royal Ascot.
Yesterday, the King met with groups of engineers and their families to hear about their experiences training at the school and the support they receive from their loved ones. He shared a joke with Natalie Newman, the wife of Cpl Joseph Newman, when she told him they had three children. He told her: “Nothing a strong drink won’t help.”
Meanwhile, on Fistral beach in Newquay, the Prince of Wales joined an impromptu game of volleyball yesterday, taking a few attempts at a serve.
The game came after the Prince’s first visit to an innovative housing project in Newquay that he hopes will be used as a blueprint to help tackle homelessness across the UK.