A celebration of the King's Naval links in the West Country
Members of the Navy have been sharing their memories and praising the King ahead of this weekend's Coronation
The King's links to the Royal Navy in the West Country are today being remembered.
Across the region there's Royal themed events being planned across towns, villages and cities to mark this weekend's Coronation.
The now King enrolled on an ‘Accelerated Graduates’ course at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth on the 15th September 1971 as an acting Sub-Lieutenant.
A spokesperson for the Navy said: "Though his position as heir to the throne naturally placed a number of restrictions on the young Prince, he made very plain his desire that he wished to be treated wherever practicable, as a regular officer in the Royal Navy, and endeavoured to build a rapport with his fellow crewmates based upon personality not title."
The Prince later transferred to 707 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton to qualify as a helicopter pilot, learning the ropes on a Westland Wessex Mark 5.
The Royal Family’s links to the Navy are forged in years of shared tradition.
King Charles III has carried on the legacy of his own father’s distinguished service during the Second World War and his grandfather's service during the Great War, with his own service and continued interaction with the Royal Navy.
The Young Prince of Wales’s relationship with the navy begins in 1953 at the age of five, as he embarked upon his first royal ‘tour’ to rendezvous with his parents in Malta aboard HMY BRITANNIA. Following an initial period of service with the RAF, learning to fly whilst studying at Cambridge as a member of the Universities Air Squadron (in a reversal of his maternal grandfather's military service)
BRNC DARTMOUTH
Charles enrolled on an ‘Accelerated Graduates’ course at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth on the 15th September 1971 as an acting Sub-Lieutenant. Though his course was much compressed, he engaged enthusiastically with study related to Electronic Systems, Electrical Engineering and ‘Man Management' (a skill which would become more relevant later in his service). Though his position as heir to the throne naturally placed a number of restrictions on the young Prince, he made very plain his desire that he wished to be treated wherever practicable, as a regular officer in the Royal Navy, and endeavoured to build a rapport with his fellow crewmates based upon personality not title.
FLEET TIME
Having engaged in a rapid period of study, Charles joined the County Class Destroyer HMS NORFOLK in Gibraltar on the 5th November 1971 to continue his training. Whilst onboard Charles would be tasked with keeping watch both above and below decks, tracing pipes, and keeping a thorough log of all his activities, the same as any other young officer in the navy. Though his first Captain was a Captain Cook, the only trip of note in which the Prince participated in was to Toulon in France. Sadly, HMS NORFOLK was bound for a period of maintenance as opposed to active service, and therefore Charles instead set about gaining experiences from across the Navys broad spectrum between 1971 and 1972, spending 24 hours at sea aboard HMS CHURCHILL a Fleet Submarine. The Prince also undertook underwater escape drill training at HMS DOLPHIN in Gosport, learning the ropes as to how one might escape a stricken vessel at depths of up to 100ft.
The Prince also conducted further study in Telecommunication and Navigation at HMS MERCURY, which he put to solid practical use aboard HMS GLASSERTON, rounding out his first two years of service having engaged with a vast amount of what the navy had to offer at the time. Charles transferred to HMS MINERVA as a Gunnery Officer, joining the ship from HMNB DEVONPORT on the 12th February 1973, with the ship sailing for the West Indies shortly after. Upon arriving in the Bahamas, HMS MINERVA (with Charles aboard) participated in an amphibious ‘RUM PUNCH’ Exercise alongside Commando carrier HMS BULWARK. Whilst in the Bahamas however, Charles exhibited very clearly that he was also very much still a working royal, and in his official capacity, he attended (as a representative of the Queen) the Independence Celebrations of the Bahamas in July 1973. The then Captain of HMS MINERVA noted that Charles was met with a mixture of ‘Curiosity and Affection’ during their numerous port visits during this time in the West Indies, highlighting that his naval service was an opportunity for the future king to maintain and re-enforce relations with the crown, whilst also forging his own path in the Navy. Not wishing to miss any opportunity to try something new, Charles spent a period aboard HMS FOX, then stationed in Antigua, to engage with its Hydrographic Survey work, and undoubtedly make good use of his studies relating to electrical engineering and navigation.
From HMS MINERVA, Charles joined HMS JUPITER as a Communications Officer, on 3rd January 1974. Whilst sailing towards New Zealand between the 12th and 13th of January 1974, HMS JUPITER (in coming to the assistance of a run aground Tug MV MEDIATOR) passed over the wreck of her forebear, who sunk having struck a mine during the wider battle for the Java Sea during the Second World War, with the Prince playing an active role in a ceremony to mark the point. Following the ceremony off the coast of Indonesia, HMS JUPITER spent February visiting a number of countries including New Zealand, Fiji and Western Samoa, eventually sailing onto the United States in March. Having seen yet more of the world aboard HMS JUPITER, Charles sought not only to sail with the Navy, but also to fly.
RNAS YEOVILTON – 845 NAS
The Prince therefore transferred to 707 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton (HMS HERON) to qualify as a helicopter pilot, learning the ropes on a Westland Wessex Mark 5. Charles undertook a rapid training course, completing 105 flying hours in 45 days, noted as ‘quite a hard flying rate’ by a superior, though the Prince took to it well, and secured his wings in time to lead 707 Squadron in a flypast to celebrate its 10th anniversary, with Charles in the lead helicopter, trailing the white naval ensign and the royal standard. Charles flew as a member of what was known as RED DRAGON flight, sporting a large red patch emblazoned with a large dragon, and carried the callsign ‘Whisky Alpha’. It is perhaps no surprise considering this clear aptitude for flying that Charles was awarded the Double Diamond award for the best new pilot.
From this training squadron, Charles transferred to 845 Squadron Naval Air Squadron also flying Wessex Mark 5s and still with RED DRAGON flight. With this squadron Charles embarked for Canada aboard HMS HERMES to participate once again in a ‘RUM PUNCH’ Exercise in December 1974, though this time from the seat of a helicopter, clocking in his 500th flying hour during the exercise, and performing his first solo deck flight and landing. As an extension to his helicopter training, Charles participated in a Marine training course at Lymington Devon, running both an Endurance and Tarzan course, his secret policeman also running behind him, whilst his doctor stood observed from a distance. Alongside all of this, somehow Charles also found the time to perform Royal engagements, performing an official visit to Fiji in October of 1974, highlighting Charles’s commitment to his Naval service and yet also his commitment to being a working royal.
1975 saw Charles largely returning to Royal duties, one particular of note being his installation as Grand Master of the Order of the Bath, for which he sported a moustache that fell well outside Navy regulations, earning a certain degree of cheeky mockery from sources such as the Navy News. It is interesting to note that this stylistic choice would never make a reappearance, instead if any, he would sport a full and thoroughly suitable (where the Navy is concerned) beard, about which, when asked as to what his mother would think, he remarked ‘I know what I’ll do I’ll shave one half and walk in sideways when I get home’ another mark of his quick humour. Charles did not abandon the navy entirely however undertaking a good deal of Command Training, all in preparation, for his next assignment.
HMS BRONINGTON
It was in 1976 that Charles was granted his own command aboard the Ton Class Minesweeper HMS BRONINGTON, placing him in charge of 5 officers and 34 ratings, and a vessel capable of speeds of up to 15 knots and sporting a wooden hull. The ship had originally borne the name HMS HUMBER (as it had been built in Hull) however when she was renamed, she fittingly drew her new title from a Flintshire village in Wales (a happy coincidence).
The ship bore the designation M1115, earning her the nickname ‘Quarter Past Eleven’ (not very catchy but well observed). Charles took command on the 9th of February 1976 and would remain in his position until the 10th December 1976. During this time Charles would engage in a number of exercises and operations in the waters around the British Isles. Whilst participating in the NATO exercise ‘TEAMWORK’, BRONINGTON happened upon three Second World War era mines (two German and One British) which the crew summarily disposed of in the proper fashion. Whilst patrolling the English Channel BRONINGTON happened upon a Soviet ‘WHISKY’ class submarine, which Charles oversaw the surveillance of as she moved through British waters.
HMS BRONINGTON also performed a search and rescue role, attempting to locate a 35-ton yacht which had gone missing in the Dover Strait and whilst participating in Exercise ‘SQUADEX’ in June of 1976, attempted to locate a diver who had gotten into difficulty and was missing in water up to 165 feet deep. The theme of family and the Royal Navy was also greatly reenforced during his service aboard BRONINGTON, as on the 15th of November, whilst moored up at Tower Pier in Central London (the day after his 28th Birthday) the Prince welcomed aboard The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen Mother, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, leaving BRONINGTON with a visitors' book that was the envy of the whole service.
The Prince’s enthusiasm for the task at hand, is perhaps best exemplified by his participation in Exercise ‘HIGHLAND FLING’ during which time the Prince, whilst operating in an area though to be clear of mines, was so thorough in his search that he discovered an unmarked mine, and dealt with it suitably. His time aboard HMS BRONINGTON was spent dealing not only with naval duties, but also Royal duties, with every three days marked by the arrival of a large blue dispatch bag, to which the Prince dutifully set about answering the various requests and correspondence, whilst also ensuring he stayed up to date with current affairs, reading all newspapers tabloid and broadsheet alike.
This sense of humour which developed between captain and crew was perhaps most obviously displayed when, upon leaving the BRONINGTON the Prince was escorted in a wheel chair sporting a toilet seat around his neck, a less than subtle but by no means mean hearted rejoinder to the Prince’s statement that command had ‘aged him’, with the crew more than happy to assist their clearly old and wizened 28 year old captain from the ship.
Having left HMS BRONINGTON the Prince’s active naval career came to an end, and on the 1st of January 1977 he was as is customary awarded the rank of Commander.
POST ROYAL NAVY SERVICE
The Prince maintained his link with the navy far beyond being a mere figurehead however, returning to his first ship HMS NORFOLK in 1978 to see how she was getting on, and attending the recommissioning ceremony of HMS BULWARK in 1979, the ship alongside which he had served whilst flying with 845 Squadron aboard HMS HERMES years prior. Perhaps most specially of all he attended the recommissioning ceremony of his own former ship HMS BRONINGTON on the 27th June 1980, a ship with which he maintained rich ties, made clear and evident by the fact that when, just over half a year later on the 24th February 1981, the Prince became engaged to Diana Spencer, BRONINGTON offered the Prince a model of the ship as a gift, him having spent the previous day aboard the ship one final time as she sailed out to sea. The Prince and Princesses wedding cake was baked and prepared by the navy, specifically CPOCK Dave Avery, who created a magnificent 5-tiered display for the occasion.
The royal couple honeymooned aboard HMY BRITANNIA from the 1st-15th August 1981, guarded at all times by the ever-diligent Navy and thus began a new period of the Prince’s connections with the Navy.
From 1981 onwards the Royal couple engaged in a number of royal tours aboard HMY BRITANNIA with the protection of the Royal Navy, be it a tour of Italian Ports in 1985 (guarded by HMS AJAX) The Middle East in 1986 (guarded by HMS SCYLLA) or Hong Kong in 1989 (guarded by HMS NOTTINGHAM). The Royal couple were always safe in the hands of the Navy, and the Prince and Princess returned the favour with numerous visits to shore establishments and ships alike, often dining aboard ship, and always bringing with him his sense of humour well instilled whilst undertaking his own service years prior. Even moving into the difficult 1990s, The Prince could rely upon the support of the Navy in an ever-changing world both personal and global, visiting Istanbul aboard HMY BRITANNIA (Guarded by HMS AVENGER) in 1993 and in 1997, a now divorced Prince of Wales travelled to Hong Kong for the region's handover to the Chinese government aboard HMY BRITANNIA (in what would be her final official voyage). A new century saw Charles partaking in a number of poignant ceremonial events, marking both the 90th and 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in Channakkale Turkey, in 2005 and 2015 respectively, and the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings in Ouistreham to which he journeyed aboard HMS RICHMOND, now accompanied by his wife Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall. Charles both alone and accompanied by Camilla, has visited many countries around the globe, be it Tokyo in 2019, Colombia in 2014 or Greece in 2018, and has been hosted aboard Royal Navy ships during a number of these trips, maintaining the bond between the sovereign and the senior service.
Upon H.M the Queen’s death, the title of Lord High Admiral, previously held by The Duke of Edinburgh (a gift for his 90th Birthday) and subsequently Her Majesty, has reverted back to the crown. Whilst the King may choose to grant the position to someone else, it is a position that he holds by default, as without a Lord High Admiral there can be no navy. As sovereign King Charles III now also holds the position of Admiral of the Fleet as his mother did before him.