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The Duchess is guest of honour at HMS Astute commissioning ceremony

27th August 2010

The Duchess of Rothesay, as Her Royal Highness is known in Scotland, praised the first of the UK’s new class of attack submarines for being a “great credit” to the country, as the vessel was formally accepted by the Royal Navy.

The Duchess, who has a number of official military appointments and has been sponsor of HMS Astute since its launch in 2007, was guest of honour at the service in Faslane, at HM Naval Base Clyde.

Naval dignitaries, the ship's crew and their families gathered on the quayside in brilliant sunshine for the HMS Astute commissioning ceremony. The submarine has now become “Her Majesty’s Ship”.

The nuclear-powered vessel, which displaces 7,400 tonnes, is the UK's most powerful attack submarine, armed with non-nuclear weapons.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, was among the guests at the ceremony today.

The Band of Her Royal Majesty's Royal Marines entertained the crowd before the arrival of The Duchess and the ship's company filed onto the parade ground ready to give her a royal salute when she appeared.

The Duchess inspected the parade, stopping to speak to a few of the submariners and band members.

HMS Astute's commanding officer Andy Coles then read out the Commissioning Warrant and Act of Dedication, and called on the ship's company to ask for God's blessing on the ship.

Some members of the crew of the original Astute, which was built in 1945, were also at today's service.

In her speech, The Duchess praised the crew and their families.

She said: "It is an enormous privilege for me to be here this afternoon, on this very special occasion, as sponsor of this magnificent vessel.

"I would like to take this opportunity to say how very proud I am of all that you have achieved since I last saw you in Barrow-in-Furness.

"I have no doubt that the sea trials were extremely demanding but, as ever, you rose to the challenge - working tirelessly to make sure they were a success - and performing admirably in what must have been unfamiliar and very testing conditions.

"You are, if I may say, a great credit to the Royal Navy and to this country."

Crew members said it was a wonderful day for them to see the ship commissioned.

HMS Astute is 97 metres from bow to stern, almost as long as a football pitch.

The latest nuclear-powered technology means she can circumnavigate the globe submerged, creating the crew's oxygen from seawater as she sails, with no need to be refuelled.