The Prince of Wales has recalled the special moment the late Queen Elizabeth II met her future husband during a visit to the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC).
Prince William, 41, paid a visit to the Royal Navy training college in Dartmouth, Devon, on Thursday 14 December, where he watched 100 cadets graduate ahead of their military service. William was dressed in the Royal Navy’s ceremonial uniform - a double-breasted, navy blue reefer jacket and a peaked cap with gold leaves - as he represented his father, King Charles III, at the graduation ceremony, also known as a “passing out”.
“It is a great honour for me, as Commodore-in-Chief Submarines, to be with you here in BRNC, representing His Majesty The King at Lord High Admiral’s Divisions,” William said in his speech, according to People. “To put your minds at ease, I know all too well how cold it gets when standing still on an exposed parade ground, so my promise to you is that I shall keep this short, allowing you to get through those grand doors and on to your hard-earned celebrations.”
During his speech, the father of three took a moment to reflect on the significance that the BRNC holds for his family. In fact, it was where his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, met Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, for the very first time.
“Whilst my own Passing Out Parade was at Sandhurst, Britannia Royal Naval College still holds a very special place in my heart. It is well known that my grandmother and grandfather met here, while my great-grandfather King George VI was conducting these very duties,” William said.
It’s been documented that the then Princess Elizabeth met Prince Philip at Britannia Royal Naval College in 1939, when she was aged 13 and he was 18 years old. According to Elizabeth’s governess, Marion Crawford, the princess was drawn to Philip’s “Viking” good looks. Crawford recalls in her memoir, The Little Princesses, that Philip caused the teenage Elizabeth to turn “pink-faced” when she saw him.
Elizabeth’s cousin, Margaret Rhodes, wrote in her autobiography - The Final Curtsey: A Royal Memoir by the Queen’s Cousin - that she “was truly in love from the very beginning”. Meanwhile, Philip’s uncle - Lord Louis Mountbatten - described his nephew’s first meeting with the princess as “a great success” in his diary.
However, this wasn’t the first time the two had crossed paths. Five years prior, the future couple were initially introduced at the wedding of Prince Philip’s cousin, Princess Marina, to Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934. At the time, the Corfu-born Philip was the Prince of Greece and Denmark. He was 13 years old, while Elizabeth was aged eight.
After their meeting at the Royal Naval College, Elizabeth and Philip began corresponding via letter while he served in the Mediterranean and Pacific Fleets during the Second World War. When he returned, they announced their engagement on 9 July 1947. They were married four months later at Westminster Abbey on 20 November.
Elsewhere during his speech, William acknowledged the major responsibilities and duties the naval officers will conduct as part of their military service. “I fully appreciate that standing here in these beautiful and peaceful surroundings, the risks of leadership on the front line might seem a world away, but you will shortly be marching through these doors behind me because you are trained, and ready to take the next step on your journeys as Naval Officers,” he said. “To the families and friends gathered here and watching online - thank you for your support and understanding to get these brilliant men and women this far, and even more so for the empathy, compromise, and dedication that will be required to give these Young Officers every chance of success in their careers.”
“Finally to you, our newest Naval Officers, congratulations. I wish you every success as you embark on this incredible journey of duty and service to our Nation; thank you.”
Prince William himself began his military training in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the latter of which he completed at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, England. He undertook a naval training course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in 2008. That same year, he was presented with his RAF wings by his father and later trained to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force.
His active service as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot ended in September 2013, before he began working as a full-time pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) in July 2015. William left his position with EAAA in July 2017 to assume full-time royal duties.
