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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Adam May

Kate Middleton sits in tank in new pics to mark Armed Forces Day

New photographs of The Duchess of Cambridge have been released to mark Armed Forces Day.

The images of Kate Middleton were taken in November last year when she visited Pirbright Training Academy.

While there, Kate spent time with the 101 Operational Sustainment Brigade at Abingdon Airfield to see how new recruits and serving personnel are trained.

Kate also took part in some of the training exercises and spent time speaking to personnel about their experiences in the British Army.

In the newly-released photos, Kate can be seen smiling as she's put to the test through a number of training exercises.

She can be seen sitting in a tank as well as getting stuck in and lending a hand to help repair some machinery.

The photos have been released to mark Armed Forces Day (Kensington Palace)

She plans to also visit the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in the future.

In a tweet from the official Duke and Duchess of Cambridge account, Kate said: "Today on #ArmedForcesDay, William and I would like to pay tribute to the brave men and women, past & present, serving in all of our armed forces, at sea, on land & in the air, here in the UK and around the world.

"Thank you for all you and your families sacrifice to keep us safe.

"Last year, I was honoured to spend time with the @BritishArmy to see how they train serving personnel and new recruits.

"It was wonderful to see first-hand the many important and varied roles the military play day in, day out to protect us all and I look forward to discovering more about the @RoyalNavy & @RoyalAirForce in due course."

The images were taken in November last year when The Duchess visited Pirbright Training Academy (Kensington Palace)

Armed Forces Day is a chance to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community from currently serving troops to Service families, veterans and cadets.

Armed Forces Day takes place on the last Saturday each June.

Celebrations began on June 20, with the Armed Forces Day flag raised on buildings and famous landmarks around the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced his appreciation for service personnel across the UK.

The Duchess of Cambridge speaking to some of the personnel (Kensington Palace)

“Our Armed Forces are without doubt the best, most respected and most loved armed forces in the world,” said Mr Johnson.

“You are hugely admired by the people of this country – who cheered you most recently at the Jubilee celebrations – because they are so proud of everything you do to keep us safe.

“You are hugely admired by the people of this country – who cheered you most recently at the Jubilee celebrations – because they are so proud of everything you do to keep us safe.

“You are there for us and our country when we need you, whether you are watching the skies, patrolling the seas or standing over our interests.

“Thank-you to everyone in the vast military family. Thank-you to our incredible veterans. And thank-you to the family and friends whose support is so crucial to ensuring that we have the best fighting force anywhere in the world.”

Kate Middleton participated in some of the training exercises and spent time speaking to personnel about their experiences in the British Army (Kensington Palace)

The Chief of the General Staff also paid tribute, adding: "From all the #BritishArmy, on #ArmedForcesDay, I want to say thank you to the military families, communities, veterans' organisations, businesses and charities that support our people.

"You are vital to the fighting spirit and wellbeing of our Army.

"We couldn't do it without you."

Earlier this week, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a surprise appearance to unveil a newly-commissioned dazzling royal portrait.

It was the first of themselves together as a couple.

Prince William and Kate arrived at the 200-year-old Fitzwilliam Museum on Thursday to unveil the painting by award-winning portrait artist Jamie Coreth.

The couple are wearing the same outfits in the portrait that they wore on a visit to Ireland (WireImage)

In the breathtaking artwork, William is depicted in a black suit with a white shirt and blue tie while Kate wears the emerald green Vampire's Wife gown she wore while on a visit to Ireland in 2020.

She also wears the Queen's Cambridge Pearl Pendant brooch as well as Princess Diana's pearl bracelet and Collingwood pearl earrings.

The pair also have their arms around each other with the painting showing them gazing off into the distance.

The Duke and Duchess, both 40, met Coreth as they viewed the painting of themselves while in Cambridgeshire for a series of engagements.

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