King Charles holds emotional private reunion with former Royal Navy mates at Buckingham Palace
Charles, 76, paid for the event privately to bring together some of those he served with as a young man, as well as representatives from associated naval organisations.
Then a dashing young Prince of Wales, he embarked on a career in the Royal Navy in 1971 at the age of just 22, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and both great-grandfathers.
Charles was an acting sub-lieutenant when he joined an 'accelerated graduates' course at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth on 15 September.
Two months later he was posted to the guided missile destroyer HMS Norfolk, and then to the frigates HMS Minerva and HMS Jupiter.
During 1972 he experienced life at sea during the Cold War on HMS Dolphin, sailing with hunter-killer HMS Churchill, studying navigation at HMS Mercury and minehunter HMS Glasserton.
His career took a step up when he became a gunnery officer on HMS Minerva on West Indies patrol, before being transferred for a brief time to her sister ship HMS Jupiter in the Pacific before returning to England to learn naval aviation.
In 1974, the future King qualified as a helicopter pilot, and he flew with 845 Naval Air Squadron from the commando aircraft carrier HMS Hermes.
He took on his final post with the Navy in February 1976, becoming the Commanding Officer of minesweeper HMS Bronington.
Over the next 10 months, he commanded the small vessel during exercises and on operations where he dealt with Second World War ordnance - and even had to closely monitor a Soviet submarine.
His active naval career came to an end in December of that year with the rank of commander - but Bronington remained close to his heart and in 1980 he attended the ceremony when the ship was recommissioned.
Charles was popular among his comrades, with contemporaries describing him as easy to teach and having a strong sense of duty.
On his retirement from service in 1976 used his naval pension to set up what was the Prince's Trust - now the King's Trust - to help disadvantaged young people, which has grown to become one of the biggest youth opportunity charities in the country.
Buckingham Palace said today's reception saw the King greet 400 guests, many of whom were previous shipmates and their partners with whom he had kept in touch over the last half century, as well as fellow aviators drawn from 845 Naval Air Squadron and across the Fleet Air Arm.
There was also a contingent of from H.M.Y. Britannia and representatives from the King's patronages The White Ensign Association, The Royal Navy Club of 1765 and 1785, The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust and the Association of Royal Naval Officers.
An aide said the event was a 'personal request' from the King and was funded by him privately.
They added: 'His Majesty was greatly looking forward to seeing his old shipmates and no doubt sharing a few salty tales on the trip down memory sea-lane.
'He is most grateful for their continued loyalty, laughter and support over the decades, and looked forward to hearing where life's journeys had taken them all.
'As we approach the 50th Anniversary of The King's Trust, which was initially funded with His Majesty's £7,400 severance pay from the Navy, it was a timely opportunity to reflect on what great things have sprung from those formative years – including lifelong friendships and a continued commitment to public service.'
It comes after the King has praised a 101-year-old veteran as 'amazing' and told him to keep drinking whisky during a visit to Lancashire on Monday.
Charles met Richard Brock, who served in the D-Day landings, at the Ceremony of the Keys at Lancaster Castle on Monday and remembered him from a visit to Normandy last year.
After asking Richard's age, the King said: 'You are fantastic,' before cheekily adding 'keep drinking the whisky' as he left.
Richard, who served with the East Lancashire Regiment, said: 'He just told me I was amazing for my age.'
His son Tony Brock, who attended the reception with him, said: 'He mentioned a nip of whisky and said to keep taking it.'
During 1972 he experienced life at sea during the Cold War on HMS Dolphin, sailing with hunter-killer HMS Churchill, studying navigation at HMS Mercury and minehunter HMS Glasserton. Pictured during 'familiarisation' training in 1974 at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines
Charles was dressed in a dove grey suit with a cherry-toned patterned tie and a matching kerchief in his breast pocket.
Among those keen to see the King were friends Joan Hardcastle, 103, and Barbara Graham, 93, who had come with staff and two other residents from Laurel Bank Care Home.
Joan held a framed photograph of Charles presenting her with her MBE for voluntary services 40 years ago.
She said: 'I've seen him several times since. He was fine when I met him, very chatty.'
Care home manager Lyndsay Scott said: 'It was Barbara's idea to come. We got here at 9am, we had flasks of tea and croissants.'
Charles took part in a Ceremony of Keys outside the castle, a tradition which dates back to 1851 when the keys were presented to Queen Victoria and which Queen Elizabeth II participated in in 2015.
Once inside the grounds of the castle, which was a prison until 2011, the King met local business owners who were showcasing their work.
He expressed his love of cheese, telling Gillian Hale, of Butlers' Farmhouse Cheeses, that he loved sheep's cheese on a digestive biscuit.
He smelled some of the cheeses she had on display but did not taste any.
She said: 'We're going to send some to him later in a goody bag. He was so gracious.'
The King was also gifted a neck tie and some gloves for the Queen from Northern Yarn.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Archaeologists discover 250-year-old shipwreck on remote island
Hiyah Zaidi Published July 24, 2025 3:55pm Link is copied Comments A 250-year-old shipwreck was discovered on the island of Sanday, Orkney, after a school boy uncovered the ribs of the wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach. This discovery resulted in a team of archaeologists, scientists, and local historians uncovering the vessel's long-lost history. And now, after dedicated research, an answer to its story has emerged (Picture: Wessex Archaeology/PA Wire) Researchers have revealed that the wreck is likely to be the Earl of Chatham, which is an 18th-century warship from the American War of Independence. After the war, the ship had a second life hunting whales in the Arctic, but met a stormy demise in the 'cradle of shipwrecks' in 1788 (Picture: AP) Ben Saunders (pictured), senior marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, said: 'It is thanks to our dedicated team of community researchers and the evidence they have gathered means we have been able to identify the Sanday Wreck with a reasonable degree of confidence. Throughout this project, we have learned so much about the wreck, but also about the community in Sanday in the 1780s. Sanday was infamous for shipwrecks at the time, called 'the cradle of shipwrecks in Scotland', but the community was equally well-known for its hospitality, as it looked after sailors who fell afoul of the area's stormy seas' (Picture: Historic Environment Scotland/PA Wire) The wreck was first discovered in February 2024, after a storm swept away sand that was covering it. It sparked the interest of the island, which is home to around 500 people, and around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile island since the 15th century. Looking at the age of the timber through wood rings revealed that the ship came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century, when record keeping started to begin thoroughly (Picture: Wessex Archaeology/PA Wire) Further research revealed that before it had a life as the Earl of Chatham, it was the HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate which was built in Chichester in 1749. It had a massive military career, where it helped Britain control Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s. In the 1770s, it served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. But in 1784, it was sold off and renamed, becoming a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland (Picture: Orkney Islands Council/PA Wire) But in 1788, while the ship was heading out on a whaling trip, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. Turning old Royal Navy ships into whaling ships was common, as their build allowed them to withstand the icy conditions of British whaling routes. The Earl of Chatham completed four seasons in the Arctic before meeting its end in the Bay of Lopness in March 1788. It carried 56 sailors on board at the time, but they all survived (Picture: Orkney Islands Council/PA Wire) Now, the timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, where they will stay for around two years. Keeping the timbers in a tank helps prevent them from decaying, because as soon as they are removed from the sea they start to dry out and break down (Picture: Historic Environment Scotland/PA Wire)
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Is there anything Bonnie Blue won't do? After filming herself having sex with 1,000 men and being accused of promoting rape culture she tells KATHRYN KNIGHT she's unrepentant – and planning even more extreme stunts
Back in the days when she was just an ordinary girl from a Derbyshire village, Tia Billinger had ambitions to be a midwife. In the end, put off by the long years of study and poor pay, she decided against it.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Posthumous degrees for Nottingham attacks victims
Two students who died in the Nottingham attacks in 2023 have been awarded posthumous degrees by the University of O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, were stabbed to death on 13 June 2023, in a series of attacks that also claimed the life of school caretaker Ian younger brother Charlie, 17, accepted a history degree in his honour on Monday, while Ms O'Malley-Kumar was awarded a bachelor of medical science on the ceremony, Charlie said it was a "monumental moment" for the family. "We know how much he would have been so chuffed to have gotten his degree this time if he was still here," he said. "It means a lot to come up here, and I feel honoured to be able to collect my brother's degree for him."Charlie thanked the university and the people of Nottingham for supporting the family, and said his brother had a huge connection with the city."He loved it - from the social life to his academics to his sport up here, he was obsessed with Nottingham - it was a real job for my parents to get him back to Taunton," he said."The city was there for us immediately - they didn't know us, they'd never met us, they didn't know our names, they wouldn't have even met Barney, but they were there for us the whole time." At the degree ceremony on Monday, friends and family of Mr Webber paid Brant, who has just graduated with a geography degree, knew Barnaby when they were at school in Somerset before they reconnected while studying in said it was "bittersweet" to attend the event."We're just here to support Charlie and the family," she said."It's such a tough day, but it's also such a lovely day to celebrate Barney's graduation."Although he's not here, it's nice to be able to support the family, and it's great that the university has honoured Barney as well." 'Proud moment' Politics and international relations graduate Ollie Chaplin, 22, met Mr Webber through the university's cricket said the posthumous degree is "a great gesture" to show the lasting legacy of his friend."It's a sign that he's not forgotten, not just by his friends, but by the institutions that he went to," he said."It's a really proud moment for his family, but also for his friends - obviously he can't be with us, but it's a great day to honour his memory."
