Prince Charles begins Baltic tour

The Prince will show Britain's support for the states

The Prince of Wales is beginning a five-day visit to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The Prince, who is due to arrive in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Monday afternoon, said his trip was "symbolic" of Britain's support for the former Soviet republics.

The three countries have been independent since the Soviet Union collapsed 10 years ago, partly because of their defiance.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Prince Charles said the Baltic states were "a beacon of stability and freedom".

"At a time when the values of Western democratic civilisation are under threat, it is timely to remind ourselves of the sacrifices made by others to attain the freedom that we in Britain have always taken for granted."

'Overwhelming support'

Prince Charles said the Baltic states matter to Britain, as does their commitment to joining the EU and Nato.

"My visit will help to symbolise Britain's overwhelming support of their efforts to do this," he said.

In Tallinn the Prince will commemorate the 1991 struggle for freedom by unveiling a plaque at the British Embassy.

In Lithuania he will visit the remains of barricades created when two million people formed a human chain in defiance of Soviet rule.

And in Latvia Prince Charles will lay a wreath at a monument to freedom and meet Holocaust survivors.

It is timely to remind ourselves of the sacrifices made by others to attain the freedom that we in Britain have always taken for granted

Prince Charles

An orphanage in Daugavpils, eastern Latvia, is also on the royal agenda, as are organic farms in all three countries.

The prince said he would also attend a British-supported army training exercise in Lithuania and see other British initiatives to help modernize the armed forces in the Baltics.

"As our armed forces find themselves engaged in operations on another side of the world, it's good to know that we have friends in Europe about whom we may think we know a little, but who look up to this country as a beacon of stability and freedom."