Princess Anne visits the engine room of naval training

Princess Anne joined Royal Navy personnel in Gosport to mark a major milestone for HMS Sultan.

The Princess celebrated 70 years of training the engineers and technicians who help keep Britain's naval forces operating around the globe.

She was welcomed by HMS Sultan's Commanding Officer, Captain Mark Hamilton, before inspecting a Guard of Honour and reviewing the Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines Lympstone, which provided the musical backdrop to the ceremonial parade.

The event honoured seven decades of service from the Hampshire-based establishment, which has become one of the Royal Navy's most important training centres. 

Thousands of engineers pass through its gates each year, gaining the specialist skills needed to support naval operations at sea and in the air.

During the ceremony, Princess Anne took the salute from officers and ratings before presenting awards recognising exceptional academic achievement, engineering excellence and outstanding service.

Paying tribute to the establishment's role, Captain Hamilton described HMS Sultan as an "extraordinary establishment" whose expertise stretches across every aspect of naval engineering.

"The expertise here spans the full breadth of naval engineering, from marine engineers who keep our fleet at sea, to air engineering and survival equipment technicians on whom our people's lives depend," he said.

Today, HMS Sultan delivers more than 320 courses annually to over 7,700 personnel. 

Alongside training the Royal Navy's next generation of marine, nuclear, air and survival equipment engineers, the base also provides specialist instruction to members of the wider UK Armed Forces, NATO allies and international partners.