Duchess of Cornwall Camilla didn't mind the heavy rain as she graced the official Commissioning Ceremony of the HMS Prince of Wales, together with her husband, Prince Charles. The future queen consort also played the role of the new Lady Sponsor of the new fleet as they welcomed its arrival in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The aircraft carrier was named after Prince Charles himself. The heir to the throne and his wife officially welcomed the £3.1 billion warship into the Royal Navy, per Express.
At the event, Camilla donned an elegant baby blue coat dress, while Prince Charles wore the uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet. The two inspected the royal guard in the hangar of the ship during the ceremony.
After His Royal Highness received the title of Honorary Commodore-in-Chief, the royal couple attended the service by the chaplain of the fleet. There, they were honored with live music from The Band of the Royal Marines.
The event ended with the hoisting of the white ensign that officially designated the ship as part of the Royal Navy's fleet after Prince Charles and Camilla cut the commissioning cake, which prepared by the navy's chef. The cake was a 3D representation of the HMS Prince of Wales, which was made in fondant.
In the photos obtained by Daily Mail Online, it showed a figurine of Prince Charles that was placed on the top of the cake. Aside from his image, there was also a small statue of a sailor holding a placard, saying, "This time it's HMS." Camilla also had her statuette, carrying a board with a written "him," pointing to Charles' small sculpture.
The small figures seemed to be derived from Queen Elizabeth's cheeky characters together with a sailor that held "HMS" and "Me" signs when she welcomed HMS Queen Elizabeth in December 2017. It was the sister ship of the new HMS Prince of Wales.
HMS Prince of Wales is a 919 feet or 280 meters carrier. It is one of the two in the new Queen Elizabeth class of ships. It can be used as a high-intensity warfighting fleet or delivering humanitarian aid and relief in case of a disaster.
To celebrate its coming, Prince Charles made a joke to his former shipmates from HMS Bronington, a minesweeper he commanded in the 1970s. Camilla, on the other hand, proudly said that its arrival would be the "beginning of an exciting new era in the long naval history" in front of 3,000 people who attended the ceremony, including the former SAS serviceman Bear Grylls.
