The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) have been visited by their Colonel-in-Chief, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, whilst exercising on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.
The visit took place during Exercise Iron Cyclone — a four-week training exercise conducted as part of the Regiment's training progression towards deploying on a NATO mission in Estonia designed to deter adversaries.
Her Royal Highness has been our Colonel-in-Chief for over 50 years and her continued interest in engaging with the regiment means a huge amount to all our soldiers.
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Welford MBE, Commanding Officer KRH, said:
"It's an absolute privilege to have our Colonel-in-Chief visit us as we conduct our training here on Salisbury Plain. Her Royal Highness has been our Colonel-in-Chief for over 50 years and her continued interest in engaging with the regiment means a huge amount to all our soldiers."
A Bond Forged Over Five Decades
Her Royal Highness's association with the regiment spans over 55 years. The Princess Royal, then Princess Anne, was first appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the 14th/20th Hussars — formed by the union of the 14th King's Hussars and the 20th Hussars. When the two regiments merged in 1969 to become the King's Royal Hussars, Her Royal Highness continued in the role of Colonel-in-Chief.
Into the Field: A Hands-On Visit
During the two-hour visit, Her Royal Highness visited specialist stands concealed deep in the remote woodblock, displaying equipment the Unit uses and some that the armoured regiment is currently testing.
We were able to explain to Her Royal Highness how we are looking at how we disperse, how we move, shoot and fight at night — and how we coordinate tanks, infantry, drones and CEMA capabilities to underpin our competitive edge.
The visit also provided the opportunity for Her Royal Highness to see the Regiment's latest warfighting capabilities, introduced since her last visit in September 2024.
A Regiment Built for Modern Warfare
Major Alex Walch, Officer Commanding C Squadron KRH, said:
"We showed Her Royal Highness the range of capabilities that we now hold — everything from our ability to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems through to the Electromagnetic Spectrum and a suite of cyber systems that we use to combat that, as well as our own training capabilities to find the enemy as a way of augmenting our ground-mounted reconnaissance troop.
"Our Colonel-in-Chief also saw our ability to recover and repair, delivered by our attached Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and our fitter sections.
“The regiment, the Brigade and the Division has a sharp eye on what modernisation looks like and what fighting in a contemporary conflict really means to us. We were able to explain to Her Royal Highness how we are looking at how we disperse, how we move, shoot and fight at night — and how we coordinate tanks, infantry, drones and CEMA capabilities to underpin our competitive edge."
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