PRINCE Andrew flew into Canterbury today to help reassure the families of soldiers of the 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment who are serving in the Gulf.

The visit to the city's Howe Barracks was a welcome morale-boost for anxious wives awaiting news (writes Jo Robertson).

The Prince is a veteran of the Falklands War and the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief. Today there was a definite sense of excitement in the air in the barracks as 80 wives and many more babes-in-arms, toddlers, children and teenagers awaited his arrival.

As a far-off drone heralded the helicopter arrival of the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, mums inside hoisted little ones onto their shoulders and toddlers leaned out through open windows to shout greetings as he stepped onto the field.

Maj Mike Ruddock, the officer in command of rear operations - meaning the soldiers and work remaining at Howe Barracks - met the Prince and filled him in on the regiment's progress in Iraq.

After a short discussion, the Prince was fully up-to-speed to go into the hall to meet the families and discuss their concerns.

At the door he was met by Jane Cullen and eight-year-old Alex, the wife and son of the Major Andrew Cullen, who is in the Gulf.

The Duke then immediately made a friend of two-year-old Davey Park, wearing a t-shirt reading Back Our Dads, who danced across the table to shake hands.

Duke or not, Davey wasn't impressed and toddled off leaving the royal visitor asking mother Donna how many letters had been sent back and forth and how they were coping with the separation.

As he moved around the tables shaking hands and spending 10 minutes or so with each group, the Prince reassured the wives their husbands were doing an important job which was appreciated.

He was relaxed and appeared to enjoy the contact, and was not fazed by toddlers clambering around dripping juice and dropping biscuit crumbs.

The wives agreed they appreciated the visit because the Prince understands as well as anyone the pressures facing both the troops and the families at home, having seen active service in a successful career in the Royal Navy.

One group of wives were particularly appreciative and had the Prince laughing and joking.

"When he came over we told him he looked gorgeous and warned him us wives haven't seen men for a long time," said Kathy Fell. "We said how much weight he'd lost since the last time he was here and offered him a room for the night, which he seemed to enjoy. I think we made his day."

The Prince also had fans among the soldiers in the rear operations group. Maj Ruddock said: "He has made every effort to visit on previous deployments. Being ex-service himself he knows from personal experience what it means to the wives to know their husbands work is appreciated.

"The families here today have taken time off work and the kids out of school, which shows the raft of support for the Duke.

"This is a real family-orientated regiment. There are just under 200 families based here and the rear operations is the conduit of information for the wives.

"We think of our job as surrogate parents and are responsive to the families' needs. It might be very practical sometimes - taking the wives who can't drive down to Sainsbury's.

"It is a crucial job we are doing here, but as a serviceman I get a buzz to see the coverage, it puts the hairs on the back of my neck on end."

Colour Sgt Trevor Andrews met the Duke from the helicopter. He said: "The Prince asked how the boys were getting on out there. They are all well and fine. Six have come back because of various injuries acquired during the active training build-up.

"The regiment is currently in southern Iraq near Basra. They are dealing with processing prisoners of war at the moment and have not as yet been involved in front-line fighting.

"Morale here is okay but we would all rather be out there. That's why we appreciate this visit so much. Prince Andrew is a casual, laid-back and approachable person. He doesn't put on any airs and graces. He is our Colonel-in-Chief. We are his regiment and he treats us as such."

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