Charles meets with Gurkhas; Special Correspondent.THE Prince of Wales Prince of Wales switches places with his double, poor boy Tom Canty. [Am. Lit.: The Prince and the Pauper] See : Doubles met one of the Gurkha fighters who served with his son in Afghanistan yesterday. Lance Corporal Bhim Garbuja, 25, from the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles is a regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. It is unique in that it recruits Gurkhas from Nepal, which is a nation independent of the United Kingdom and not a member of the Commonwealth. (RGR RGR Roger RGR Rangers (US DoD) RGR Relative Growth Rate RGR Royal Gurkha Rifles (a British regiment) RGR Rassemblement des Gauches Républicaines ), served under Harry in Helmand Province earlier this year and described him as a favourite among the troops. They even cooked the young royal hot goat curries with meat from the Afghan army as a treat. The Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of the RGR, flew into Brunei to meet L/Cpl Garbuja and his Battalion comrades stationed in the Sultanate during his tour of the Far East with the Duchess of Cornwall The Duchess of Cornwall is the title held by the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Duke of Cornwall is a non-hereditary peerage held by the British Sovereign's eldest son and heir. . The soldier recounted how he and his comrades had paid the royal officer the ultimate tribute, making him an honorary Gurkha and presenting him with a Kukri - their dreaded combat knife. The Nepalese soldier said: "We felt he deserved it. He is a good officer and we worked under his command." Harry, 24, an officer in Household Cavalry Regiment, went to Helmand Province in December last year to work as a Forward Air Controller, serving at Garmsir in southern Helmand and Musa Qaleh. But his four-month deployment was cut short after 10 weeks, when a news blackout broke down at the end of February. Captain Surya Gurung from the 1st Battalion summed up the importance of the gift to the young royal. "We don't normally give it as a present to people. Those who we give it to, it's because they have earned it themselves. They gave it to the Prince because of his support, friendship and work with us. "For us it's not necessarily because he is a Prince, it was because he was so liked by the soldiers. "He contributed to the camp and raised the morale of the boys. "He should consider himself hereafter a Gurkha. "I see him as a Gurkha officer because he was there in that particular time of operations in the frontline - that really mattered." The Gurkhas have a reputation as fearsome warriors who wield the infamous Kukri in close contact fighting. CAPTION(S): WALK ABOUT. . . The Priince of Wales meets his fans in Brunei. |
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