Prince Charles visits Royal Navy college in Dartmouth

The Prince of Wales was the guest of honour at a passing out parade at Britannia Royal Naval College.

The visit marked 50 years since Prince Charles passed out from the very same college in Devon.

The prince, who holds the title Admiral of the Fleet, presided over the Lord High Admiral's Division's sailors at the Dartmouth site on Thursday.

Commanding officer of the college, Captain Roger Readwin, called it a "historic day" for the sailors.

Captain Readwin said it was "very special" for Prince Charles "to reflect on his career in the Royal Navy and of service and duty in public life and share that with the next generation of naval leaders".

Among those passing out in front of the heir to the throne after completing 30 weeks of training was Officer Cadet Ruairidh McBean, from Inverness.

He said it was a "great honour" to have Prince Charles in attendance at the passing out parade.

He added: "While 2021 has been a difficult year for everyone, I'm incredibly proud of the way that staff have adapted and embraced new ideas, to protect the in-flow of new blood into the service."

Midshipman Justine Lambert said: "I'm really proud to be here today passing out with my family, it was really special to have His Royal Highness here."

Surgeon Lt William Sparkes, who has joined the Royal Navy as a doctor, said: "It's nice that the 15 weeks we did culminated in something big, it's really special to mark the occasion and I'm really glad it could go ahead."

The parade marked the end of the first phase of training for the latest officer cadets to join the Royal Navy.

Prince Charles inspected the front rank of the guard which included sailors from the Commonwealth and other countries including Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Columbia.

The prince also presented prizes to nine graduating officer cadets.

He then concluded his visit by planting a tree at the Captain's House to mark the occasion.

Prince Charles joined the naval college on 16 September 1971 as a member of Blake Division, where he spent six weeks learning about leadership, navigation and the ways of the Royal Navy.

During his naval career, the prince qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1974 before joining 845 Naval Air Squadron, which operated from the commando carrier HMS Hermes.

With the aid of his severance pay, the Prince of Wales set up The Prince's Trust.

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