Prince William announces overseas trip without wife Kate Middleton – details

The Prince of Wales will carry out a solo overseas trip to Estonia this month, in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment.

Prince William, 42, will travel to the country in northeastern Europe from Thursday 20 March to Friday 21 March to learn about how the regiment is bolstering NATO’s eastern flank as part of Operation Cabrit.

During the two-day visit, the future King will also carry out engagements in Tallinn to learn more about how the country has responded to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and how Estonia is innovating in renewable energy and technology.

William will begin the first day of his trip by meeting Alar Karis, President of Estonia – which has been prominent among those giving military equipment and political support to Ukraine.

He will also visit a school founded by the Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia in May 2022 to respond to the war in Ukraine, and the Prince will meet teachers from Ukraine to hear about their experiences at the school, and how they have helped students settle in Tallinn and looked after their mental wellbeing.

William founded his Earthshot Prize to help recognise and scale-up solutions to repair the planet, and he will also attend an event to learn about renewable energy start-ups.

The following day will be spent at Tapa Army Base where William, a former Army officer, will meet Estonian soldiers and attend a handover ceremony as The Mercian Regiment takeover from The Royal Dragoon Guards.

The British forces at Tapa Army Base are the UK’s largest permanent overseas deployment and there are around 900 UK service personnel in total in Estonia.

It will mark William’s first time in Estonia, and comes just weeks after his uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the country in his capacity as Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Dragoon Guards and met troops who had been deployed on a training exercise.

The Prince of Wales was made Colonel-in-Chief of the Mercian Regiment in August 2023. 

William previously joined the regiment on a training exercise on Salisbury Plain in November 2023, where he threw smoke grenades during a simulated attack.

And last Christmas, he attended a festive party with soldiers and their families at Picton Barracks.

William’s trip to Estonia also marks his first foreign visit of 2025. His last overseas visit was to Cape Town, South Africa in November for the 2024 Earthshot Prize Awards.