A royal regiment has visited a site in Putney where an antecedent unit had their first parade.

Officers from the 2nd Battalion of The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment visited Putney Heath, which is where an antecedent unit had its first muster.

The regiment’s current Commanding Officer challenged officers to visit the site where the parade occurred on October 14, 1661.

The visit took place on Thursday, May 3, and eight officers looked around the historic place and had their picture taken.

The Tangier regiment was raised by British Army Officer Captain Thomas Morgan in 1661, to defend the Port of Tangier, which King Charles II had acquired as part of the dowry, when he married Catherine of Braganza, the Infanta of Portugal.

One of the visiting officers said: “As part of our engagement with the traditional recruiting area, officers from The Princess of Wales Royal Regiment visited the historically significant site of Putney Heath where we can trace our history back to 1661. It was there where The Tangier Regiment of Foot one of the PWRR antecedents, had its first ever muster parade.”

The 2nd PWRR is an infantry battalion based overseas in Dhekelia, Cyprus. They recruit soldiers from Surrey, London, Kent, Sussex and Middlesex, as well as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight.

The challenge was part of their tour to re-engage with people in the UK, which has included visits to local schools, colleges and cadet units as well as volunteer work with local charities and trips to sites of historical and Regimental significance.