News
TRH attend the International Fleet Review
28th June 2005
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall joined crew and guests aboard HMS Scott to watch Her Majesty The Queen review an international fleet of 167 ships to mark the Battle of Trafalgar 200 years ago.
The International Fleet Review, held near Portsmouth, is the biggest peacetime parade of naval ships from around the world.
It has been organised to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Britain‘s greatest naval hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The Prince, in his role as Vice-Admiral, and The Duchess of Cornwall, waved to the tens of thousands of spectators who had gathered on the Portsmouth seafront as the 13,500 tonne HMS Scott left port to take part in the Review.
An armada of 167 ships from the Royal Navy and 35 other nations were lined along the Solent, off Southsea, in Portsmouth. They included warships and tall ships and representatives from all sectors of the maritime industry.
More than 250,000 people lined the shore and a flotilla of spectator yachts were put to sea.
They were dwarfed by the battleships, which included the flagship of the French fleet, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, and the flagship of the Spanish fleet Principe de Asturias.
After boarding HMS Scott, Their Royal Highnesses met ship‘s captain Commander Steve Malcolm, former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jock Slater and many of the 250 onboard guests, including navy officers from across the world.
The Queen was embarked on HMS Endurance which escorted Her Majesty in her role as Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral of the Fleet, past a huge gathering of the world‘s biggest ships.
Navy Commander The Duke of York watched the spectacle from HMS Enterprise, The Princess Royal from RFA Sir Bedivere, The Duchess of Gloucester from HMS Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent from RFA Fort George.
As Rule Britannia played from speakers along the seafront, Lieutenant Commander Clive Woodman said the presence of the largest ships from the French and Spanish navies showed that any animosity from 200 years ago was “long since buried”.
He added: “I have never seen anything like this. It‘s spectacular. Seeing this line of ships stretching down Southampton Water is a once in a lifetime sight.”
Countries from as far afield as Japan, with three ships, and the USA, with two ships, lined up to wait for the Queen‘s inspection with Germany, Italy, Belgium, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Morocco and Estonia among the other countries represented.
Organisers said the event had the largest number of countries of any previous fleet review throughout the world.
In a written message, The Queen said the presence of such a large international fleet was a mark of the high esteem in which Nelson continued to be held and of a special bond that existed between all mariners.
Her Majesty said: “Admiral Lord Nelson‘s supreme qualities of seamanship, leadership with humanity and courage in the face of danger are shared among our maritime community today. He could wish for no greater legacy.”
Today's International Fleet Review is the largest of its kind in peacetime. Fleet reviews in the Solent date from 1346 and the last was in 1977 to mark The Queen‘s Silver Jubilee.
A son-et-lumiere mock sea battle with 17 tall ships from five nations, blazing broadsides, gun smoke and state-of-the-art pyrotechnics, is to follow at 7pm.
The grand finale to the day will include 10,000 individual fireworks fired from 35 pontoons and six barges at 9.30pm that will be visible from more than five miles away.
The entire fleet will then be illuminated along the Solent for the close of the evening, at 10.30pm.