Prince Charles became the target of jokes at a recent naval ceremony in Her Majesty's Naval Base in Portsmouth. The occasion was meant to welcome the addition of a new Navy carrier with the Princes of Wales' namesake but while this celebration was a formal affair, it quickly became evident that the rest of the officers were planning a great time with the Prince of Wales.
To celebrate the occasion, figurines of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, were placed on top of the cake. One of the navy figurines carried a banner with the words "This Time It's HMS" and another figurine, which looked a lot like Camilla, had a banner with the words "Him -->" and it was set next to the figurine of Prince Charles.
According to Daily Mail, the cake toppers were a lot similar to the ones for the HMS Queen Elizabeth ship, the sister ship of HMS Prince of Wales. Inaugurated in 2017, its cake toppers also had a figurine bearing the HMS banner and Queen Elizabeth's figurine bearing the "Me" banner since the vessel was in honor of her name. The HMS Prince of Wales, however, had a Lady Sponsor, which was meant to bring good luck to the ship and this was Camilla, Prince Charles' wife.
Prince Charles and Camilla were reportedly amused by the cheeky cake toppers. Apart from this joke, some of Prince Charles' shipmates during his Navy stint in 1976 were also around and shared humorous anecdotes about the future King of England.
According to the reports, the royal's former shipmates ribbed him for his "costume," his Admiral of the Fleet uniform and sword. Prince Charles shot back, also joking, that his costume wasn't practical for climbing ladders, which elicited laughters from the other guests.
His shipmates also shared some of their fondest memories with the Prince of Wales. Apparently, when he retired from the Navy, they made him wear a toilet seat around his neck and kept calling him an old man.
Prince Charles served the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976 on the HMS Norfolk, a guided missile destroyer. He also was aboard four other naval ships: the HMS Minerva, the HMS Jupiter, the HMS Hermes and the HMS Bronington. He took command of the last ship in the months leading up to his retirement.
Meanwhile, the HMS Prince of Wales is said to be quite an advanced state-of-the-art naval carrier among the rest of the world. As the "godmother" of the ship, the Duchess of Cornwall also spoke at the celebration and said that the vessel's size is breathtaking. Her future role will be to oversee the welfare of the ship's company.
