Household Heroics at Sea: Queen Camilla Honored with Clingfilm and Command

In a regal display of humility combined with nautical innovation, Queen Camilla marked her 78th birthday with a remarkably unmonarchical and earthy present — a clingfilm dispenser — during her ceremonial tour on board the nuclear submarine HMS Astute in Plymouth. The humble domestic item was central to the operation of the vessel, and it has since become submarine folklore.

 

Commander Chris Bate presented the Queen with the dispenser at Devonport Naval Base: a testament to the resourcefulness of his submarine crew, who had used clingfilm to repair a flaw in HMS Astute's primary engines during a deployment. The gift was presented with a special plaque, "Clingfilm keeping nuclear submarines at sea" — a badge of ingenuity that made Her Majesty beam: "There's nothing more useful, brilliant how wonderful!" she exclaimed.

 

Appropriately, the occasion was more meaningful for Queen and crew members alike. Camilla, as the Lady Sponsor of HMS Astute, developed close bonds with the Royal Navy family and was officially invested as Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom, the first lady and royal to be so recognized. The submarine, which she had named almost two decades earlier, was also coming to the completion of its record-breaking first commission after almost 20 years at sea.

 

Key Highlights

Special Birthday Present: Queen Camilla was given a clingfilm container, acknowledging the crew's creativity in utilising the device to keep engines running at sea.

 

Historic Naval Title: The Queen was appointed Vice Admiral of the UK in the ceremony — the first woman and first royal to serve in the role.

 

Deep Navy Connections: Lady Sponsor, Her Majesty greeted eight previous commanders of HMS Astute, affirming her continued patronage as the ship celebrates its two-decade first commission.

 

Crew Ingenuity to the Fore: The Queen has commended submarine crews for their ingenuity, ranging from improvised clingfilm repairs to writing long-distance software, astonished at the "unofficial toolkit" that keeps the Royal Navy going.

 

As the world tectonics are driven in unexpected directions, the submarine can again find itself in a foreign world, but I have no doubt that they will welcome this with the crew's typical determination," the Queen said to service families.

 

Source: Yahoo News · The Independent · Upday · BBC · Royal Navy (Official X)