Her Majesty The Queen

It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of Her Majesty The Queen after 70 years of devoted public service.

Her Majesty had a deep and real connection to the Royal Navy, not only as its ceremonial head as Lord High Admiral, but as a daughter, wife, mother and grandmother of serving naval officers.

She has attended ten Fleet Reviews, the first to mark her Coronation in 1953 and the last for Trafalgar 200 in 2005. Two of the ships she has sponsored are still in service, one of which, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, will serve as an enduring legacy to her memory, long into the 21st century. Our archive is rich with photographs and recollections of visits she made; palpable excitement surrounded each and every one of them.

Her father served at the Battle of Jutland as a 20-year-old during the First World War; her husband was in the heat of the action playing his part in major campaigns during the Second World War; she spoke warmly of her time after the War living in Malta, as a naval family.

At the heart of naval service is duty, and this is nowhere better exemplified than by Her Majesty’s long and loyal service to the Royal Navy. Thank you, Ma’am.

Sir Philip Jones, National Museum of the Royal Navy Chairman
Professor Dominic Tweddle, National Museum of the Royal Navy Director General