Camilla given tour of aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales

The Duchess of Cornwall has been given a tour of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, which was recently appointed as the Nato command ship.

After landing on the flight deck of the 65,000-tonne warship at Portsmouth Naval Base, Camilla was given a guard of honour.

She then went on to visit the bridge where the commanding officer, Captain Steve Higham, briefed the duchess on the ship’s Nato role as well as its recent involvement in a major exercise in the Arctic called Cold Response.

While in the ship’s main control room, Camilla was shown the captain’s seat and jokingly commented that she had not expected the ship’s wheel to be so small.

Also during the visit, the duchess, who is the ship’s sponsor, presented a number of non-service medals for long service and good conduct.

She was also able to chat to a number of members of the ship’s 700-strong personnel before her departure.

Camilla previously visited the carrier with the Prince of Wales for the ship’s official commissioning ceremony in December 2019 and they also both attended its naming ceremony at the Rosyth dockyard in September 2017.