During a visit to the Royal Artillery’s home, King Charles III used an artillery gun and received acclaim for his “faultless” firing style.
While at the Royal Regiment of Artillery headquarters at Larkhill, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, the King, dressed in the number four tropical dress uniform, accepted an invitation to fire an L118 light cannon.
With a grin of excitement on his face, Sgt. Neil Mitchell of 14 Regiment. 34 Battery, quipped, “I was going to ask him if he could start on Monday.”
When the King visited the location for the first time after becoming Captain General in 2022, he was greeted by a 21-gun salute.
King Charles was welcomed into the officers’ mess after the playing of the national song, where he encountered staff members, including members of the recently established King’s Gurkha Artillery (KGA).
The King was briefed on the many responsibilities within the Royal Artillery and also met with representatives of the reserves.
104th Regiment, Newport, Wales-based Staff Sgt. Bethan Preston-Newman stated: “It was a once-in-lifetime opportunity to meet the King and really nice to explain what the reserves do.”
Bombardier Lance “Being here and representing the regiment was a great honor,” said Rebecca Haynes, who is also stationed in Newport.
The King got the opportunity to view historical artifacts in the dining room, such as his great-grandfather George V’s full dress tunic uniform for voluntary artillery officers. The clothing has “lasted very well,” he remarked.
The King was shown some of the military’s equipment on the premises, such as drones, a multiple launch rocket system, and the Archer artillery system.
He agreed to fire a single shot from the sitting position of the L118 light cannon.
He sat on the shooting seat, put on a pair of earplugs, called “ready,” and winced as he pulled the firing lever.
Sergeant Mitchell commented: “The first one he didn’t give it a good enough pull but the second time was faultless.”
Source: BBC, CNN and other media outlets
