Pouring rain didn't dampen spirits when His Royal Highness Prince Edward carried out a Royal review of the RAF Police.

The Earl of Wessex visited RAF Henlow on Friday to carry out the review, which included a tour of the police force's crime lab, displays and demonstrations and a parade.

The Chronicle's Natalee Hazelwood shot an exclusive video of the visit - click on the right to view it

The Prince arrived by helicopter at around 10.45am and was taken to the hangar where more than 100 RAF policemen and women gathered to parade in front of the Earl and music was provided by the RAF century band.

After the parade, which was hailed exceptional by squadron leaders, Prince Edward thanked the personnel for their hard work on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

He said: "For some reason it has been 35 years since the last Royal Air Force Police review.

"So I doubt anyone here was on parade then. However I would think that in spite of the weather you all will remember this day with pride and for as many years."

He added: "We should not only remember those who cannot be present today but also the many families who have to bear the brunt of the extraordnary pressure put upon them."

Cpl Angela Young of Special Investigations who led flight two in the parade was pleased with how it went.

She said: "I think we did exceptionally well considering the short amount of time, which we had to prepare.

"To get 100 policemen and women together and put a parade together who have never marched with each other before is not easy and I think we did really well.

"Obviously you get a bit nervous about it before, but as soon as you hear the first command you know you have a job to do and you just get on with it."

After seeing the parade the Prince then inspected the members and met the four women who led each flight of the parade.

He was then transported to the crime laboratory where he was shown around and was also shown a demonstration of the fingerprinting and photographic process.

Head of covert operations Alec Rennie who led the demonstration said: "It went well, except for a problem with the torch, which wouldn't work but I think he saw the funny side.

"It is a privilege to have him here today. He was very relaxed and easy to talk to."

Prince Edward was then treated to a formal lunch and watched a series of capability demonstrations including RAF Police dogs.

He also spent some of the afternoon meeting with members of the RAF Association, the Air Training Corps and families of serving RAF policemen and women.

The last review was carried out by Princess Margaret and last week was the second time Prince Edward has visited RAF Henlow.

Squadron leader Jeff Brock said of the visit: "We have been planning for this for about a year, but the actual time for rehearsals has really been this week.

"The guys that have taken part in the parade had been practicing all week, some have even come from as far as Cyprus and Gibraltar."
He added: "We are really proud to have the visit. It has been considerable time since the last Royal review, so we are very proud to mark the occasion here today.

"It will definitely provide a boost to morale in a time of considerable operational activity."

The RAF Police is also celebrating its 90th anniversary, as well as the Royal Air Force.