A surprise visit from commanding officer Prince Charles passed its 50th anniversary this month.
Just a small crowd of people gathered at the harbour in May 1976 to catch a glimpse of the Prince as he stood on the bridge of HMS Bronington with his fellow officers, bringing the Royal Navy minesweeper into number six berth, watched by police and security officers on the shore.
As the ship closed in on the quay, Prince Charles hurried from the wheelhouse, grabbed a microphone and started giving instructions to the engine room, afterwards looking towards the crowd and calling out a few words.
The visit had been planned purely on an operational basis so there was no royal pageantry at the quayside, but barriers were in place – when harbour access was far simpler than today – to keep watchers a reasonable distance from the ship.
That evening, Prince Charles dined with Lt-Governor Sir John Martin at Government House, along with Minister of State for the Home Department, Lord Harris of Greenwich.
He returned to the ship overnight.
The following day, Prince Charles called upon Bailiff Sir John Loveridge and attended a reception in the Royal Court House, also attended by Jurats and States members. He had no formal engagements for the afternoon or on the Sunday until HMS Bronington left St Peter Port at 11pm, as the future King used his spare time to enjoy island life.
On Friday afternoon, a car was provided so he could see something of the island. He drove out to Pleinmont and had a swim at Grandes Rocques.
On Saturday afternoon, he was spotted windsurfing at Fermain Bay and on Saturday evening had a private dinner with officers from his ship at the Fermain Hotel.
Early on Sunday morning, he was windsurfing at Rocquaine Bay and surfing at Vazon, ahead of some more windsurfing at Havelet in the afternoon.
Unlike previous royal visits, when islanders were given advance details of the programme of events, Prince Charles’ visit came as a surprise.
Although he arrived as commanding officer of HMS Bronington, the opportunity was taken for as many people as possible to see Prince Charles.
His mother followed him to Guernsey in 1978, the year after her Silver Jubilee.
He commanded the tonne-class minesweeper from February to December 1976, his final active command in the Royal Navy before ending his military service. Bronington was built on the River Hull and launched in 1953, and was one of wooden-hulled naval vessels.
It was decommissioned in the late 1980s and having been open to visitors on the Manchester Ship Canal, she became part of the Warship Preservation Trust, moored in Birkenhead, until she sank on her mooring in March 2016.