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28/06/2005
International fleet review gets underway
Marking the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the Queen has begun a review of the huge international fleet assembled off Spithead near Portsmouth.
Accompanied by Prince Philip, the Queen onboard polar survey ship HMS Endurance will review the 160 ships in the fleet that have assembled from 35 countries around the world to mark the event.
Around 250,000 people are expected to descend on Portsmouth today to see the navy, merchant and sail training ships, some of which will take part in the mock battle to re-enact Trafalgar in the Solent.
However, in the interests of political correctness the re-enactment will be "fought", not between the British and the French, but between blue and red teams.
Today's review of the 167 moored ships that includes aircraft carriers, warships, merchant ships and tall ships will take around two hours to complete.
There is a heavy security presence with armed police onboard HMS Endurance and on fast patrol launches keeping an eye on the hundreds of small craft that have entered the Solent to view the spectacle.
On completion of the review by the Queen, who is Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy, the tall ships will weigh anchor and proceed into position on the Solent to re-enact the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Admiral Lord Nelson succeeded in decimating the French fleet.
At 8 o'clock, the death of Nelson will be staged by an actor onboard the Grand Turk, a replica of a 19th Century frigate, which will take part as one of the 17 ships in the mock battle.
The "sea battle" will include a state-of-the-art son et lumière show and then the modern fleet will then be illuminated as part of the finale that will include a fireworks display.
Tomorrow's International Drumhead Ceremony on Southsea Common will provide a more sombre occasion during which veterans of all maritime conflicts will commemorate the sacrifice of war.
(SP/KMcA)
Accompanied by Prince Philip, the Queen onboard polar survey ship HMS Endurance will review the 160 ships in the fleet that have assembled from 35 countries around the world to mark the event.
Around 250,000 people are expected to descend on Portsmouth today to see the navy, merchant and sail training ships, some of which will take part in the mock battle to re-enact Trafalgar in the Solent.
However, in the interests of political correctness the re-enactment will be "fought", not between the British and the French, but between blue and red teams.
Today's review of the 167 moored ships that includes aircraft carriers, warships, merchant ships and tall ships will take around two hours to complete.
There is a heavy security presence with armed police onboard HMS Endurance and on fast patrol launches keeping an eye on the hundreds of small craft that have entered the Solent to view the spectacle.
On completion of the review by the Queen, who is Lord High Admiral of the Royal Navy, the tall ships will weigh anchor and proceed into position on the Solent to re-enact the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Admiral Lord Nelson succeeded in decimating the French fleet.
At 8 o'clock, the death of Nelson will be staged by an actor onboard the Grand Turk, a replica of a 19th Century frigate, which will take part as one of the 17 ships in the mock battle.
The "sea battle" will include a state-of-the-art son et lumière show and then the modern fleet will then be illuminated as part of the finale that will include a fireworks display.
Tomorrow's International Drumhead Ceremony on Southsea Common will provide a more sombre occasion during which veterans of all maritime conflicts will commemorate the sacrifice of war.
(SP/KMcA)
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