FRIENDS and families of naval students turned out in force yesterday as the Queen paid a visit to engineering training centre HMS Sultan in Gosport.
Resplendent in yellow, the Queen arrived by helicopter before taking the salute from 820 sailors on parade with the Band of the Royal Marines.
After an inspection of students' work at the establishment - the largest of its kind in Europe - the Queen greeted the host of well-wishers lining the route of her walkabout.
The prestigious event was also the highlight of Lieutenant Jeremy Bailey's career.
The engineer, who trained at HMS Sultan and now serves in HMS Somerset, based in Devonport, was presented with the sword of honour - an annual naval award given to the best overall engineer under training.
A proud Lt Bailey said: "I am delighted. When I joined the Navy I said to myself I wanted to win this."
Lt Bailey, who joined HMS Sultan for a systems engineering management course, was recently deployed in the Adriatic during the Kosovo crisis.
After the parade, the Queen, accompanied by the Commodore of HMS Sultan, John Clayden, made an inspection of work being carried out at the establishment before meeting the public.
Catherine and Thomas Quay, aged eight and six respectively, of North Boarhunt, presented the Queen with posies as she made her walkabout.
Their mother, Grace Quay, whose husband is a naval commander based at HMS Sultan, said: "It was absolutely lovely to meet the Queen, especially for the children. They were really, really thrilled. They have had the morning off school especially and they haven't stopped talking about it all morning."
Trainee Engineer Wren Angie Williams had the task of handing the sword of honour to the Queen before it was presented.
"Originally, I was supposed to be in the guard of honour, but I injured my back a few days ago so my warrant officer asked me to do this," she said.
"It's always a thrill to meet the Queen, but my heart was beating quite fast."
Other local dignitaries, including the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Mary Fagan, and the mayor of Gosport, Aleck Hayward, and his consort, Iris Binfield, were there to enjoy the spectacle.
Afterwards, the Queen attended a private reception at HMS Sultan, where she met sailors of all the ranks.
She also unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit.
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