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The Queen was introduced to Britain’s new £100 million F-35B Lightning stealth fighters today on her first public engagement of the year.
The 93-year-old monarch visited their base at RAF Marham in Norfolk, a short hop from her Sandringham home, in her role as honorary air commodore of the base.
It was also her first official outing since the announcement that her grandson the Duke of Sussex, 35, and his wife Meghan Markle, 38, would stepping back from royal duties.
Dressed in a ‘peaches and cream’ dress and hat by her senior dresser, Angela Kelly, she watched intently as one of the new fighters landed vertically. Although she has seen the aircraft from a distance at flypasts, this was her first close look.
She also toured a new integrated training centre, preparing the next generation of pilots and technicians, and met a cross-section of the 3,600 people at the base, home to the fabled 617 Dambusters Squadron.
The Queen, 93, travelled to RAF Marham in Norfolk this morning where she was respectfully greeted by officers for her first official engagement of 2020
A guard of honour awaited the Queen’s arrival and welcomed her at the start of her engagement today
The Queen, who seemed in high spirits, chatted with members of staff during her visit this morning
The Monarch, who is the honorary is Honorary Air Commodore, was welcomed by a guard of honour this morning
The monarch also lunched with 50 people from across the ranks who have been closely involved in the F-35B project, which was designed to deliver 138 aircraft over the coming decades.
The cost of the first 48 has been estimated at £9.1 billion by 2025, including support, training and maintenance.
Group Captain James Beck, the station commander, said everyone at the base had been ‘buzzing’ to see the Queen, who has been visiting the base for decades, usually every other year during her winter stay at Sandringham.
But he said the royal visit was also a chance to recognise personnel who have played a key part in getting the jets, some of which will spend up to six months at a time on Britain’s two new aircraft carriers, up and running. ‘It’s not so much about the Queen; it’s about saying thank you to everyone,’ he added.
The Monarch looked intently at the work of the station’s staff during her visit today while she toured the premises
50 of the most deserving members of staff were invited to ta private lunch with the Queen after the visit. Pictured: the Queen inspecting the new integrated training centre that trains personnel on the maintenance of the new RAF F-35B Lightning II strike aircraft
The smiling monarch chatted with members of staff that had gathered to welcome her at the station
On a blustery day, she was greeted by a guard of honour comprising RAF and Royal Navy personnel including one unfortunate man whose hat blew off and away just as she arrived.
Inside the training centre she met so many staff she was heard to remark: ‘I seem to have gone around a lot of people here.’
The Queen, who trained as a mechanic in the ATS during the Second World War, also viewed training demonstrations of engine maintenance, weapons loading and a canopy change.
She also met trainee pilots from the RAF and Navy and heard how much of the training is now done using artificial intelligence.
A security officer unnamed for security reasons said the Queen was ‘quite interested in the training devices’
The queen looked relaxed and rested, having just resumed royal duties following her winter break
The Queen, pictured walking past a training mock up of a F-35B Lightning II fighter, inspected the station’s new integrated training centre
Members of staff of the station gathered to welcome the queen during her first official engagement since the start of her winter break
The Queen looked lovely in a peach and cream ensemble with a matching hat with peach feathers
The monarch, accompanied by captain James Beck, paid great attention to the work of the station’s staff
The Monarch was also treated to watching a £100m F-35B land vertically on the bases’s taxiway on the airfield
The Queen seemed in high spirits during the engagement, chatting away with staff and smiling
On the royal family’s Instagram account story, the Queen could be seen talking to the RAF students present (left) and other members of personnel (right)
The monarch held onto her hat as a playful gust of wind ruffled her coat as she made her way inside, escorted by the station’s commander captain James Beck
A guard of honour awaited the Queen’s arrival and welcomed her at the start of her engagement today
The Monarch watched as the air crew worked on a training model F-35B Lightning II fighter during her visit
The Queen arriving at the RAF Marham this morning, escorted by the station’s commander Captain James Beck
The Queen seemed fascinated by the intricate work done by RAF Marham’s staff during her visi
The technicians also learn their trade using a £6.4 million life-sized model in the centre.
One training officer suggested it was just as well. ‘We pranged it the first time we used it,’ he said, explaining they were using a munitions lift truck to try to load a Paveway IV laser-guided bomb onto the training model.
‘Fortunately, it just involved a new lick of paint on this instead of damaging a £100 million aircraft,’ another officer said, as the Queen laughed.
The Queen in the main atrium of the Integrated Training Centre (ITC) greeting mambers of RAF Marham personnel
The Queen receives a posy presented by children from the local Cherry Tree Academy at the end of her visit to RAF Marham
A member of Royal Navy personnel demonstrates the latest equipment in the Integrated Training Centre (ITC) to Her Majesty
The Queen greets Station Commander Group Captain Jim Beck out side of the Integrated Training Centre (ITC) at RAF Marham
Crowds of spectators wave Union Jack flags as they cheer for the Queen as she prepares to leave RAF Marham after her visit
RAF personnel lining the street at the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to RAF Marham, Norfolk
Group Captain Beck said that in the first five years of the Lightning programme, the UK flew to America to train and put 450 people through the programme.
‘In the first nine months of this centre being open we’ve put another 450 through,’ he said.
‘We’re halving the time the Americans are training.
A guard of honour was awaiting the arrival of the Monarch at the West Nortfolk base this morning
The Queen visited the station’s premises and met with members of staff. 3600 Service Personnel, civil servants and contractors work at RAF Marham. Its functions range from engineering support to maintenance to frontline support
‘This is the jewel in the crown really for Lightning, this centre here, and all partner nations are looking at why we’re doing it so successfully.”
RAF Marham is the home of the F-35B Lightning – a fifth-generation, multi-role, stealth fighter. The Station is also home to a range of engineering support functions, from maintenance to frontline support.
Over 3600 service personnel, civil servants and contractors work at RAF Marham.
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