The heart of Scotland’s capital rang to the sound of military music as 250 sailors from HMS Queen Elizabeth marched proudly up Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile this week, exercising the aircraft carrier’s Freedom of the City.
With drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed, the ship’s company paraded from the Palace of Holyrood, past the Scottish Parliament and towards the City Chambers, in a striking display of naval tradition and the enduring bonds between Edinburgh and the Royal Navy.
The sailors, dressed in ceremonial uniform, were accompanied by The Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland, while crowds and tourists gathered along the famous route to watch.
The occasion was made even more spectacular by a flypast from an F-35 Lightning stealth fighter, the cutting-edge aircraft which operates from HMS Queen Elizabeth’s flight deck.
At the City Chambers, the Guard, led by Lieutenant Commander Julian Caithness, was inspected by Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Councillor Robert Aldridge, accompanied by the carrier’s Commanding Officer, Captain Claire Thompson.
The Lord Provost described the parade as a memorable day for the capital and said the ship’s company had brought to an end a 13-year gap since sailors from the former HMS Edinburgh last paraded through the city.
He said Edinburgh greatly valued its relationship with HMS Queen Elizabeth and the wider Armed Forces, including serving personnel, veterans and military families living in the city.
Following the inspection, the sailors continued along the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral, where they saluted the Lord Provost, Captain Thompson and Naval Regional Commander Scotland and Northern Ireland, Brigadier Andrew Muddiman ADC RM.
Captain Thompson said exercising the Freedom of Edinburgh was a “huge honour” inherited from the former HMS Edinburgh.
She said: “This event involves our ship’s company marching through the city in our best ceremonial uniforms, which symbolises the strong links we have with Edinburgh strengthened recently by our docking period in Rosyth.
“We are proud to return now that the ship is well on its way to recovering warfighting readiness and on our generation pathway to very high readiness duties.”
The parade comes at an important point in HMS Queen Elizabeth’s return to operational duties.
The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier left her Portsmouth home port on September 4 for a programme of training around the UK and Northern Europe.
Captain Thompson said the deployment was the first in a series of visits in Britain and overseas after HMS Queen Elizabeth assumed the role of NATO Afloat Command Platform.
Its first period back at sea has involved trials, training and operating with NATO staff embarked, while aircraft are expected to return to the carrier’s enormous flight deck within weeks, for the first time in almost two years.
One of the largest and most powerful warships ever built for the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth can carry up to 40 aircraft and serve as a floating command-and-control centre for ships and aircraft operating alongside her.
Around 800 sailors serve aboard the carrier, with the crew now undertaking months of training in preparation for future operations.
Brigadier Muddiman said the sight of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s sailors on the Royal Mile demonstrated the Royal Navy’s enduring relationship with Edinburgh.
He said: “In these challenging times I think it’s important to remind everyone that this is their Royal Navy, made up of men and women who hail from towns and cities across the UK and who represent that bond of friendship which connects us all.”
Edinburgh’s naval links stretch back centuries.
For around three decades, the previous HMS Edinburgh was affiliated with the city until the warship was decommissioned in 2013. The Freedom of Edinburgh will ultimately pass to the future HMS Edinburgh, a new anti-submarine frigate currently being built by BAE Systems in Glasgow.
As that vessel is not expected to enter service until after 2030, HMS Queen Elizabeth has been permitted to hold the affiliation in the meantime.
The capital also sits close to two places with deep maritime significance, Leith, a centre of seafaring and trade for centuries and now home to the Royal Yacht Britannia, and Rosyth, where HMS Queen Elizabeth recently underwent a docking period.
Rosyth remains at the heart of Britain’s modern naval shipbuilding industry, with the Royal Navy’s new Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates being constructed there by Babcock.
HMS Venturer, the first of the class, has already been rolled out of the assembly hall, followed by HMS Active, while HMS Formidable, HMS Bulldog and HMS Campbeltown are at various stages of construction.
Against that historic backdrop, the sight and sound of hundreds of sailors marching through Edinburgh, accompanied by Royal Marines music and an F-35 roaring overhead, provided a powerful reminder that Britain’s centuries-old naval traditions continue alongside some of the most advanced military technology in the world.
Images: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
