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Princess Anne marks HMS Sultan’s 70th birthday, celebrating ‘the engineering heartbeat of the Naval Service’
5 June 2026
Hundreds of sailors proudly paraded before Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal as the Navy’s home of engineering marked its 70th birthday.
Princess Anne was guest of honour at HMS Sultan in Gosport as personnel from the training establishment marked seven decades of being ‘the engineering heartbeat of the Naval Service’ with Ceremonial Divisions.
Escorted by Sultan’s Commanding Officer Captain Mark Hamilton, Her Royal Highness inspected the Guard of Honour before reviewing the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Lympstone, who provided the musical accompaniment throughout the event.
As well as taking the salute from officers and ratings on parade, Princess Anne presented awards and prizes recognising outstanding academic achievement, engineering excellence and exemplary service.
Describing his base as an “extraordinary establishment”, Captain Mark Hamilton said:
“It was our very great honour to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to Sultan.
“The expertise here spans the full breadth of naval engineering, from marine engineers who keep our fleet at sea, to air engineering and survival equipment technicians on whom our people's lives depend.”
Sultan’s staff deliver more than 320 courses to more than 7,700 personnel annually.
Beyond providing the Royal Navy with the marine, nuclear, air and survival equipment engineers it needs to support its global operations daily, they also instruct personnel from across the UK’s Armed Forces, NATO and international partners.
Capt Hamilton said the future would see training at Sultan transformed with increased use of simulated and emulated environments – and increased training and work with NATO allies and partner nations.
He continued: “And as new platforms arrive under a hybrid Navy, Sultan will remain what it has always been, the engineering heartbeat of the Naval Service, powering naval engineering for generations to come."
Engineering Technicians (Marine Engineer) Gugulethu Bhebe, Sophie Marriott and Henry Relph each received the Wider Service Medal from Her Royal Highness.
Petty Officer Raymond Hamley was presented with his Silver Valedictory Certificate and Lieutenant Commander Bart Allen-West received a second bar to his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.
"It is a massive honour to receive this award from Her Royal Highness and a privilege to be part of HMS Sultan's 70th birthday celebrations,” he said.
“Having joined the Royal Navy in 1990, this medal is recognition not only of my long service and good conduct, but also of the sacrifice and unwavering support of my family throughout my career."