King Charles reflects on his Dartmouth days as memories surface during speech

King Charles delivered his address alongside Captain Andrew Bray during the Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, marking a visit steeped in ceremony.

He recalled earlier days with a chuckle: “I have so many memories from my time here, especially zipping up and down the Dart in the old picket boats, learning the hard way how to navigate at sea while trying not to get flattened by over-enthusiastic yacht owners.

“Little did I know, these early lessons would come in handy five years later when I found myself commanding one of the Royal Navy’s last wooden-walled ships, a Ton-class minehunter."

“Looking back, it was all character-building the sort of experiences that, thankfully, have served me extremely well ever since.”

He joked about narrowly avoiding becoming tabloid fodder while trying to berth a ship in a ferocious force nine gale. 

“I was determined not to make the papers by crashing into the jetty,” he quipped, adding that such hair raising experiences were “character-building” and have served him well ever since.

Earlier this year, he welcomed former shipmates to Buckingham Palace for a reunion that reminded him both of the passing years and the lifelong bonds of service.

The King arrived in Devon during the day aboard the Royal Train, with the elegant carriages spotted near Totnes as he travelled via the South Devon Railway en route to Dartmouth. 

His arrival at the College’s Parade Ground was perfectly timed with a flypast by three DA20 Dassault Falcon training aircraft.

The visit held special meaning for His Majesty, who first joined Dartmouth more than 50 years ago, in September 1971, as a member of the Blake Division. 

As a graduate entrant, he spent six weeks at the College learning leadership, navigation and the traditions of the Royal Navy.

During his naval career, the King went on to qualify as a helicopter pilot in 1974 before joining 845 Naval Air Squadron, which operated from HMS Hermes. 

His final appointment came in 1976, when he commanded the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington during the closing months of his Royal Navy service. 

It was from his severance pay that he later established what is now known as The King’s Trust.

The Royal Family’s connection to Britannia Royal Naval College runs deep, with the King’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather all having trained at Dartmouth. 

As Prince of Wales, Charles last attended the Lord High Admiral’s Divisions in 2021.