SOLDIERS not long returned from Iraq will receive royal thanks from the Queen when she visits their base at Howe Barracks in Canterbury on Tuesday, November 9.

In her role as colonel-in-chief of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Queen will meet soldiers of the 1st battalion who left Iraq in July.

A royal press office spokesman said: "As colonel in chief, the Queen tries to maintain her links with all battalions in the regiment throughout the year.

"She will certainly want to meet those soldiers who were on active duty in Iraq."

Fuller details of the visit will be released in the near future.