It really does not look like the Princess of Wales will ever travel for work again. No more royal tours, no more overseas visits, no more day-trips to Denmark. Kate will travel, but only for pleasure. Only for vacations. Meanwhile, Prince William’s next solo overseas trip has just been announced. He’ll head to Estonia this month for a mostly military-themed visit.

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.

[From Hello]

I would imagine that this was something William was asked to do as part of the British concerns that Donald Trump is going to blow up the situation in Ukraine and leave Europe vulnerable to all kinds of Russian aggression. Plus, William simply doesn’t do enough with his military patronages, and he does look for any excuse to wear any uniform at any given time (take that, Harry!). Anyway, it sounds like a perfectly normal two-day tour. I wonder why no one expected Kate to go? If she can go to Mustique, surely she can go to Estonia.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.