First Reigning British Monarch In Decades On Warship

Britain’s King Charles III is on board the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, representing the first time in nearly forty years a reigning monarch has joined a Royal Navy warship at sea. King Charles flew to the flagship in the English Channel while it was completing intensive training prior to its voyage to Japan where it will solidify the UK’s defense partnerships and promote stability and peace.

The Head of the Armed Forces visited the ship in his role as Honorary Commodore-in-Chief Aircraft Carriers and met with personnel of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and spoke to the ship’s company.

His Majesty said in the hangar, “As you prepare to set sail as the flagship of the UK Carrier Strike Group, building on the success of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s inaugural deployment in 2021, I just wanted to express, on behalf of the nation, my heartfelt gratitude for the extraordinarily valuable contributions and personal sacrifices that you and your families continue to make in the name of duty.

“I can sense the anticipation and excitement amongst many of you today for what lies ahead over the next eight months and all I can say is I will be watching your progress with great interest,” he added.

The strength and complement of the carrier strike group have not been disclosed. King Charles, then Prince, last visited a carrier, the HMS Ark Royal in 1977 when he flew to the ship in a Buccaneer jet from Royal Navy Air Station Yeovilton.

Adrian Barker, Chief Physical Training Instructor (PTI) was among the sailors to meet His Majesty. He said, “It was nice to speak to him about deck hockey and tug of war, he obviously has fond memories of working with PTIs in the past. It was not what I expected, and really warming and easy to talk to.”

Able Seaman Marc Rutherford met the King on the bridge. Later he said, “It was the proudest day of my life since joining the Royal Navy, I’m still in shock, he was funny and I was surprised he would support a team like Burnley – Newcastle would be much better.”

FMI:  www.royalnavy.mod.uk/