Prince Charles visited
Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth on Thursday, of which he said,
“has a rather special place in the hearts of my family”.
Charles, 73, paid tribute to the
Queen and his late father as he presided over the Lord High Admiral’s
Divisions parade.
He said: “Britannia
Royal Naval College has a rather special place in the hearts of my family. My
father, as Lord High Admiral himself, was extremely proud of his links to this
College, and it was here that my mother and father first met in the Captain’s
garden, while my grandfather, King George VI, carried out the inspection of
your predecessors. For
myself, it is somewhat alarming to think that fifty years ago I was standing
where you are as part of Blake Division on the eve of my own naval service
which, to this day, I still look back on with great fondness and pride.”
The
Queen first met her future husband at Britannia Royal Naval College in
Dartmouth in 1939, when the then Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was tasked
to look after the then 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth.
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| The Duke of Edinburgh at the naval college in 1958 |
Elizabeth
and Philip tied the knot in November that year and enjoyed 73 years of marriage
together until the Duke’s death in April 2021.
Prince
Charles followed in his father’s footsteps and enrolled at the naval college in
1971. He then served on the guided-missile destroyer, HMS Norfolk, as well as
HMS Minerva and HMS Jupiter.
In his speech, the future king spoke about
his time at the college, saying: “The
lessons I learned remain with me through the decades and I certainly sat more
upright than usual when arriving this morning. Indeed, it was whilst
here that I learned about the Fleet Air Arm and realized that it was the specialization
I wanted to pursue. My very first flight from Norton (which I now hear is a
Lidl shop, at the top of the hill) convinced me of that. Each one of you will
discover your own particular skills within the service, amongst which to bear
in mind is the vital importance of being able to maintain a sense of
humor.”
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| Prince Charles makes an inspection |
He then joked: “Now, of course, may not be the time to tell you how my signature
came to be on the Wardroom ceiling or how I understand I still retain the
fastest time for transiting the internal College corridor.”
Prince
Charles’ outing comes as the Queen has been forced to cancel her pre-Christmas
family lunch at Windsor Castle, amid rising COVID-19 cases.
