The Prince of Wales carried out a low-key visit to a maritime special forces unit on Tuesday, an entry in the Court Circular has revealed. Prince William visited the headquarters of the Special Boat Service (SBS), which is the Royal Navy's answer to the SAS, acting as an elite maritime counterterrorism unit.
While Kensington Palace has not shared any further details about the engagement, William worked with the SBS and the SAS in 2008 as part of his military training to understand different branches of the armed forces. The then 26-year-old Prince spent around ten days in the Caribbean with the force, which was working to combat drug trafficking and piracy in the region.
The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. Most of its operations are highly classified, and details are rarely shared by the government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.
In 2009, William began his training as a search and rescue pilot, and after passing his exams with the Royal Air Force, he joined RAF Valley in Anglesey in September 2010. His military service saw him deployed to the Falkland Islands.
After leaving the Armed Forces in 2015, William then retrained to become an air ambulance pilot, working with East Anglian Air Ambulance for two years. The Prince took up official royal duties full-time in July 2017, as he and Kate moved their family from Norfolk to Kensington Palace in London.
With Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis beginning their education in London, in 2022 the Waleses then moved to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor ahead of their enrolment at Lambrook School. The family-of-five will relocate to nearby Forest Lodge, an eight-bedroom Georgian-style home, located in Windsor Great Park – a move which is seen as their "forever home".