Prince Charles Visits Colchester Paras For 40th Anniversary

The Prince of Wales has visited Colchester to meet the Parachute Regiment and celebrate his 40th anniversary as their Colonel-in-Chief.

During the day of events at Merville Barracks, all four Battalions have attended a parade, during which His Royal Highness presented medals.

Wearing his tropical service dress and the Paras maroon beret, Charles spoke with each Battalion individually about their regimental life, from parachuting to vehicles and equipment.

With everyone seated around the parade ground, all eyes looked to the sky as the The Red Devils fell to earth.

The seven men, who are all serving Paras, trailed red smoke behind them as they hurtled to the ground then adjusted their descent and landed gracefully around a target laid out on the ground.

They carried a commemorative flag as a present for the Prince and after making their parachutes safe presented the memento to Charles.

The Parachute Regiment, also known as 'The Paras', provides the British Army with the capability to deploy an infantry force at short notice.

They are the only line infantry regiment of the British Army that has not been amalgamated with another unit since the end of the World War Two.