Overview

• About 400 guests gathered at Buckingham Palace, comprising Charles’s former Royal Navy shipmates and their partners.
• The reunion was organised at the King’s personal request and financed entirely from his private funds.
• Attendees included sailors who served with him between 1971 and 1976 on ships such as HMS Bronington, Minerva, Jupiter, Hermes and Norfolk.
• Representatives from the White Ensign Association, the Royal Navy Club of 1765 and 1785, the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust and the Association of Royal Naval Officers were present.
• The reunion coincided with the approach of The King’s Trust 50th anniversary and highlighted its origins in his £7,400 Navy severance pay.