Prince William visited British troops in Estonia, sending a clear message of UK support near the Russian border.
Wearing a camouflage uniform, the prince toured Tapa Camp, sat in a Challenger 2 tank, and met soldiers from the Mercian regiment and NATO allies.
His visit highlighted the UK’s role in Operation Cabrit, defending NATO’s eastern flank and deterring Russian aggression.
William spoke with troops about the reality of serving so close to Russia, underscoring the importance of NATO’s collective security in the region.
Dr David Bull speaks with Talk's royal correspondent, Rupert Bell.
Click here for more from Talk https://talk.tv
If you need any help visit: https://talk.tv/helplines
#news #royalfamily #princewilliam #russia #usa #trump #kingcharles
Wearing a camouflage uniform, the prince toured Tapa Camp, sat in a Challenger 2 tank, and met soldiers from the Mercian regiment and NATO allies.
His visit highlighted the UK’s role in Operation Cabrit, defending NATO’s eastern flank and deterring Russian aggression.
William spoke with troops about the reality of serving so close to Russia, underscoring the importance of NATO’s collective security in the region.
Dr David Bull speaks with Talk's royal correspondent, Rupert Bell.
Click here for more from Talk https://talk.tv
If you need any help visit: https://talk.tv/helplines
#news #royalfamily #princewilliam #russia #usa #trump #kingcharles
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Let's talk about, this is a great story, that was yesterday, not yesterday, the day before,
00:05about, you know, the secret offer to Donald Trump about the US becoming an associate
00:12member of the Commonwealth. I think this is rather peachy and Trump seems to like the sound of it.
00:18Well, it's quite interesting and it actually reflects, in many ways, the sort of soft power
00:23of the monarchy, because we know Trump definitely has a soft spot for our royal family, as we've
00:30seen in the communications, and how almost King Charles has been used to broker sort of the
00:36relationship now between Keir Starmer and President Trump. And coming into the Commonwealth, which is
00:42an interesting thought, obviously the King is head of state of Canada and, of course, they are part
00:50of the Commonwealth, which has 56 nations as part of the Commonwealth, and maybe you can have,
00:58anyone can be invited in, unless they form to certain criteria, and maybe it will be a way of
01:04sort of calming the tensions that seem to have been developed between Canada and, of course,
01:11the United States, given what Trump has been saying. So, quite interesting. Whether it comes
01:17off, I'm not sure, but it does show the significance of the way the Commonwealth has a part to play,
01:24and Britain have a part to play, and it's something, it's our way of still managing to engage on the
01:29international stage with a degree of credibility within the framework of those nations.
01:36And, of course, this is not a new idea, is it? It had the blessing of the late Queen. It was originally
01:41mooted when Trump was last in power, and according to the reports this morning, or last night,
01:49Donald Trump suggested he will sign the United States up as an associate member. I mean, the
01:53Commonwealth, it's worth just remembering, it's a third of the world's population. It has 56
01:59countries in it. Are there going to be tensions here, though? Because America has made it very
02:04clear they want Canada to be part of the United States. The King, as you say, is head of Canada.
02:10Is this not going to cause more problems?
02:15On the face of it, it sounds like it is, but I think it's a way of also cementing the relationship
02:21between Britain and the United States, that the King is encouraging Donald Trump maybe to consider
02:28this as a strategic move, that he can exert his influence over those 56 nations, and it would
02:35maybe help. But, obviously, the Canadian thing is a separate issue. Obviously, lots of Canadians
02:40are up in arms about it. It's going to be a test for Mark Carney, the new prime minister,
02:44how he deals with it. Because, obviously, I know one or two Canadians, but it seems like most of
02:50them are up at arms at the suggestion, and probably quite rightly so. But Trump does like to
02:55throw the odd sort of curveball out there, and this is certainly one that wasn't on my
03:01hit list of ideas that Donald Trump might come up with. But he's also suggested
03:08Greenland as well, so I'm not sure how the Danes are taking to that as well. Not well,
03:12apparently. So it is all part of the sort of scattergun approach that Trump
03:19seems to be adopting at the moment, and he's hoping a few will land. But the Canadian one,
03:23I don't think, Ron. But the Commonwealth thing, I think if you look at it as a sort of an idea,
03:27it's not the stupidest idea to bring America within that framework, because, of course,
03:33the Commonwealth and Britain is designed to try and foster relations and create that soft power
03:40element. And it's a hugely significant part of the King's legacy, and he's very keen to make sure the
03:46Commonwealth is seen to be a viable group of nations that actually have a sense of purpose and
03:51can, to some extent, achieve things. I mean, I did laugh when I thought about this. If the US
03:56joins the Commonwealth, then almost history repeating itself. Of course, they declared
04:01independence in 1776. Boston Tea Party and all that will have America back. Thanks.
04:07And they're planning lots of celebrations next year to celebrate 250 years of that famous tea
04:15party and the independence that developed as a result. So America will be celebrating.
04:20So it does seem an odd time. You know, there's no time like the present because the world
04:26landscape is changing almost on a daily basis in what is going on. So it's an interesting
04:32development. Let's see what happens over the next few months. I do know the King values the
04:37Commonwealth hugely and sees it as a part of his legacy is to make sure the Commonwealth is still
04:44a very tight organisation. You know, he accepts there will be changes and, you know, you don't
04:50even have to, you can ask to join. You don't have to have been at one stage under British rule.
04:56There are four nations who recently joined. I think one of those was Rwanda. So it is quite
05:01interesting. It has expanded. But obviously, if the United States joined, it would be a hugely
05:06significant moment for the Commonwealth. It certainly would. You're right. Rwanda, Mozambique,
05:11Gabon and Togo were the last four to join. Rupert, I should be on a team of Trivial Pursuit
05:16with you. Let's talk about Prince William in combat fatigues. Yes, he'd been off to Estonia.
05:24And obviously, again, this is all part of, look, he's an ex-serviceman. He wants to make a
05:31contribution. He was going to see the Welsh Fusiliers, I think, of which he's Colonel-in-Chief,
05:35who were stationed out there. There's been various NATO exercises. And again, it's a sort of little
05:40bit of sabre rattling, obviously pointing towards, you know, Putin saying, look, we're ready to
05:46defend Estonia should it be necessary. And he's out there on the, in a way, I suppose, the frontline
05:54going to meet service people. He drove a tank yesterday. Look, we obviously know there's an
06:00air of symbolism about this. And, you know, obviously, it would have been agreed by the
06:04government that, yes, go on, off you go to Estonia. Look, we've got a pretty beleaguered
06:10defence force at the moment. I mean, I think our army is only 78,000 strong. And that,
06:15you know, if you actually think what are that percentage are actually fighting force,
06:21we know our services are pretty stretched on all fronts. So it is something that will be
06:27exercising Keir Starmer's mind as to how they expand the, you know, what do we do about the
06:34defence of this nation. But obviously, William going out and the King obviously is head of the
06:40armed services in a sort of a quasi role. You know, again, it is important that William is
06:47seen to be there and offering support and his government support and he's the easiest way
06:54to do it and actually has a great empathy with servicemen and women anyway.
06:58And of course, the political significance, he was wearing a NATO badge, wasn't he, on his uniform?
07:05Well, and this is all part of, you know, NATO is, you know, obviously with Donald,
07:09back to Donald Trump, it's basically trying to encourage and Donald Trump may have, you know,
07:14some people say he may have a point, getting nations to actually not be so dependent on
07:20American support. And there is some, you know, that actually, you know, look after yourself,
07:24get it right in your own. Yes, be there. But obviously, don't just look at towards America
07:31as the, we'll write a blank check and then we'll come over their horizons. Look, there's been some
07:35rather strange things said by press secretaries, you know, sort of about the French, you know,
07:39if it wasn't for us, well, you know, as I think we played a bit of a part in that as well. So
07:46I would take, but I get what's going on. And NATO is at the moment, obviously,
07:52having to deal with fields at times a bit fractured. So for him to go there and be,
07:56and it's a NATO exercise, let's not forget. So that's why another reason why he would have been
08:01wearing it, because the exercise in Estonia has been organised under a NATO umbrella.
08:06Yeah. Rupert, fascinating stuff. Always good to talk to you. Rupert Bell there.
08:11And that was Rupert's Royal Roundup. Rupert's Royal Roundup.