The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to celebrate their first Valentine's Day as a married couple in just a few weeks time. However it seems that the royal couple - who are expecting their first child this spring - are set to spend the day apart as Prince Harry will be in Norway. Harry, who was appointed Captain General Royal Marines in December 2017, will visit Exercise Clockwork to celebrate 50 years of Commando Helicopter Force and Joint Helicopter Command deploying to Bardufoss for extreme cold weather training, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrince Harry is set to celebrate Valentine's Day without Meghan Markle
Exercise Clockwork is the traditional name of the annual winter exercise, based in one of the world's most demanding environments. Set 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle in North Norway, Clockwork has trained over 16,000 Royal Marines and Royal Navy sailors and airmen since 1969. Harry, 34, will fly to the Air Station in Bardufoss next month to meet military personnel living and training across six months of the year on the base.
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During the visit, the royal will be briefed on the history and context of Clockwork. The Duke will view a variety of outdoor Ground Training Stances, which will demonstrate the equipment and training that is conducted at Clockwork; it will include field tents, snow vehicles and a Quincey Shelter - a makeshift shelter built of snow in which the elite forces are able to camp.
He will then visit an aviation hangar housing some of the specialist aircraft including Apache, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters and will talk with expert aircrews and engineers. At the end of the engagement, the Duke will join Clockwork personnel to celebrate the 50th anniversary before departing. Harry succeeded The Duke of Edinburgh as Captain General; Philip held the appointment for 64 years. The special visit will be the Captain General's first trip to Joint Helicopter Command.
Meanwhile, Meghan will no doubt still plan something special on Valentine's Day. In 2015, the former Suits actress wrote a blog post on her website The Tig about the importance of self- love, in a post titled, "Hook, line and sinker, I am such a sucker for Valentine's Day." She gave advice about how singletons should mark the Hallmark holiday, writing: "I think you need to be your own Valentine." Meghan added: "I think you need to cook that beautiful dinner even when it's just you, wear your favourite outfit, buy yourself some flowers, and celebrate the self-love that often gets muddled when we focus on what we don't have."
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