'Proud old captain' King Charles sends 'warmest good wishes' to crew on former ship HMS Bronington

King Charles has penned a letter to the crew of his old ship, HMS Bronington, on the day of his coronation.

Prince Charles captained the ship in 1976, his final year in the Royal Navy, and said on the day of his coronation, he recalled "with the greatest nostalgia" his service on board the ship.

"It was an unbelievable 47 years ago and many of our shipmates have since crossed the bar, but each person still stands out in my mind," he said.

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"The many successes of our operations in the fleet were in the best traditions of the Royal Navy and widely acknowledged at the time."

The King went on to say, as the crew's "proud old captain", he "admired" the professionalism of the crew, as well as their "close-knit teamwork and unfailingly robust good humour".

"I remain deeply grateful to you all for the strong bonds we forged, and I send you my warmest good wishes on this historic day," he said.

"Splice the Mainbrace!"

HMS Bronington is partially submerged in a dock basin on Merseyside having sunk at her moorings.

However, in 2022, a campaign was launched to raise the ship.

A dive survey carried out by marine specialists found that, with some minor remedial work on the hull to make her watertight again, the minesweeper is in a satisfactory condition to be refloated.

Ideally, the voluntary preservation trust formed to save the ship wants to see her as a working ship again.

But, if that proves too much of a challenge, the volunteers have made it known they would be happy with turning the minesweeper into a museum ship.