Page 15 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 13
The Royal Lancers and Her Majesty’s Ship Prince of Wales
HMS Prince of Wales represents one of the nation’s foremost defence assets. Able to act as a floating area of sovereign British territory anywhere in the world, its sheer presence projects national power and prestige. The Regiment, through the excellent work of Home Headquarters, Regimental Head- quarters and the Old Comrades’ Association, our privileged to be affiliated with the Ship from its birth and we are delighted with the opportunities it will afford us, from inter-service co- operation and co-ordination to the more personal relationship between the crew and the soldiers in our Regiment.
On 8th September 2017, The Colonel of the Regiment, a Lance Guard and a Scimitar deployed to Rosyth Dockyard for the ship’s Naming Ceremony. Conducted by HRH Prince of Wales himself with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, the naming cer- emony represents the moment when a ship is added to the Navy List. Resplendent with Lance Pennants flying, Royal Lancers mounted a lance guard at the bow of the ship, easily matching the Welsh Guards with whom we share the ‘Land affiliation’. To the amusement of the section on the prow of the ship, they were asked to remove their drills boots and spurs so as not to scratch the multimillion pound deck-coating and thus wore slippers throughout! A Scimitar also found its way into the dockyard; despite being instructed to park it in the public viewing area away from the VIPs, the troop leader in question decided that this wasn’t enough publicity and simply drove it through onto the parade square, raising the Regimental flag on an antenna and applying the handbrake before anyone could complain. It then featured in every press photo of the ceremony thereafter, thus delighting the Colonel of the Regiment and Army guests
and annoying the Navy Parade Marshall. Afterwards, the Royal Lancers moved with the crew of HMS Prince of Wales and their families for lunch and were personally thanked by the First Sea Lord. This lunch demonstrated the true benefit of the day through Lancers bonding with their HMS Prince of Wales col- leagues. Beers were shared, football matches planned and most of the crew had their first Scimitar familiarisation – the irony of their excitement at looking inside an ageing vehicle whilst we were overshadowed by perhaps the world’s most modern war- ship was not lost.
As a rather delightful footnote, the previous ship to bear the name HMS Prince of Wales was the venue for Churchill’s his- toric meeting in 1941, out of which emerged the Atlantic Char- ter. This agreement would later form the basis for the United Nations – under whose flag we will be deployed in Cyprus as you read this.
DJC