British Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, on Friday attended an attestation parade of new British Gurkha recruits.

Addressing the ceremony, Prince Edward highlighted the friendship between Britain and Nepal, strengthened by the Gurkha soldiers.

“Now you have become a Gurkha soldier. Among the more than 13,000 aspiring recruits this year, only 274 have been selected as new Gurkhas,” he said. “This is one of the greatest challenges of your life. You should feel immense pride in your achievement.”

After the parade, the royal couple took a group photo with the newly recruited soldiers. They also met and interacted with the new recruits and their family members present at the ceremony.

After the ceremony on Friday, the royal couple hiked for an hour and a half from Lumle in Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski, to Majhgaun, where they will stay overnight. On Saturday morning, they are scheduled to trek to the tourist village of Ghandruk via Landruk and stay there for the night.

They are set to return to Kathmandu via Pokhara on Sunday. The royal couple landed in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Here are some photos of the attestation ceremony.