Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has taken the salute at Britannia Royal Naval College as 154 Officer Cadets celebrated the end of training at Lord High Admiral’s Divisions.
Over 850 friends and families watched as Her Royal Highness inspected the Cadets and presented prizes.
During her address Her Royal Highness told the parade that it was a privilege to be at the College.
She thanked the College staff for their efforts in instructing and mentoring the Cadets and also thanked the families and friends for the support they had given their loved ones throughout their training, which she added would be even more important as the Officers’ careers progressed.
Her Royal Highness also spoke of her family’s links with the College and the Royal Navy’s role in supporting the UK’s interests all over the world.
Among the Officers graduating was Midshipman Hendrikus Looze from Paignton. The 20-year-old is a former pupil of Churston Ferrers Grammar School, who has chosen to specialise as a Warfare Officer.
He said: “I’ve wanted a life at sea from a very young age so I joined the Navy to see the world and defend our nation. One of the highlights of the course for me was the final exercise living and working in small boats on the River Dart, as part of a fictional Task Group.
"It was great being out on the river doing what I hope to be doing in the future in a place that I grew up loving. The training has helped me to develop as a person and also made me more self-disciplined.
"I feel I now have the tools to tackle any challenge I may face in the future either as an individual or as a member of a team.”
The Cadets passing out included 28 Officers promoted from the Ranks, a Royal Navy Chaplain, three new Officers for Queen Alexandra’s Royal Navy Nursing Service, 26 recruits to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service and internationals from Singapore and Malta, who have trained alongside their Royal Navy counterparts.
A total of 178 other Cadets at varying stages of their training took part in the parade, among them were international students from Albania, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Qatar and Ukraine. Music was provided by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Commando Training Centre.
Two platoons of Rating recruits from HMS Raleigh were also part of the parade.
Captain Harry Duffy, the Commanding Officer of BRNC, said: “All our parades are a special occasion but Lord High Admiral’s is probably the most prestigious.
"To have Her Royal Highness here as the representative of her father, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, The Lord High Admiral, was a great honour.
"Those passing-out should be proud that they have met the stringent standards that we require of them to earn their place on parade today.
"They can look forward to a very exciting future.
"The Royal Navy’s success is built on team-work and there are certain elements of training that are common to Officers and Ratings. The recruits from HMS Raleigh were a very welcome addition to our parade.
"I hope by being here they will see that a career in the Royal Navy is one without limits and in years to come some of them may be back here celebrating their promotion to the Officer Corps.”
The title Lord High Admiral dates back to the 14th Century and was conferred to The Duke of Edinburgh by Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of his 90th birthday in 2011.
