Queen Elizabeth II: Military services reflect on monarch's legacy ahead of funeral

Her Majesty was the Head of the Armed Forces and the first female member of the Royal Family to serve in the armed forces

Military services in the South West have paid tribute to their past Commander in Chief, Queen Elizabeth II.

Hundreds of service personnel have been rehearsing in preparation for the Queen's funeral procession on Monday.

Her Majesty will be carried on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, drawn by 142 sailors, during the procession to Westminster Abbey.

The Queen was the first female member of the Royal Family to serve in the armed forces in 1945.

As Head of the Armed Forces, she held more than 50 ranks and appointments in the UK and Commonwealth Armed Service.

Her funeral procession route to Westminster Abbey will be lined by members of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, with a guard of honour standing in Parliament Square, made up of all three military services.

Royal Navy sailors have been rehearsing pulling the gun carriage for the Queen's funeral procession

Her Majesty was the royal patron for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity since 2007.

Devon-based Chief Operating Officer for the Royal Marines Association, Richard Spencer, said: "I'm sure that every one of the hundreds of Royal Marines who are supporting the state funeral over the next few days will take huge pride in what they're doing and it's one of those stories that you now you'll be able to tell your grandchildren and great grandchildren."

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Those rehearsing include the Naval Base at Devonport, Plymouth-based frigate HMS Iron Duke, HMS Raleigh in Torpoint, and the Commando Training Base for Royal Marines at Lympstone.

"She was a tremendous monarch, she was a superb mother, grandmother, great grandmother - not only to her family, but to the wider family of the British Isles and indeed the wider Commonwealth," Mr Spencer said.

Royal Navy personnel have been rehearsing at HMS Collingwood ahead of the funeral

Honorary curator at the Britannia Museum, Dr Richard Porter, has reflected on the relationship the monarchy held with the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

"It is the primary training establishment of the Senior Service and the Queen has always had a close connection with the Royal Navy, and now we've had four monarchs that have been educated here and there will be a fifth, and so it's quite a sort of a special place," he said.

"It's almost like losing a close relative... the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been very special friends of this college."

Cadets at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth will cease training to watch the Queen's funeral

Capt Sarah Oakley, captain of the college, said: "We plan to livestream in our in a big lecture theatres so the college population can come together and take that experience together.

"Clearly, we won't be doing any training during the period of the funeral, this is a time for everyone to reflect and come together and thank God for the Queen's life and all her years of service."

Mr Spencer said military officers would not forget how the Queen made each of them feel special during her visits.

"You sort of came away with a feeling that the only reason she'd come to visit the unit that day was to have a chat with you... she made 300, 400, 500 people feel that way during each visit, and she did that day in, day out, for 70 years."

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