King Charles and Queen Camilla have made their first joint appearance together since the monarch's moving cancer message on December 12.
The pair hosted a reception at St James's Palace, where they met those on board HMS Prince of Wales who completed its Indo-Pacific deployment this year.
The warship returned to Portsmouth last month after a mission that took it to 40 countries across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, South East Asia, Japan, and Australia.
Commander Tom Leonard said it was "phenomenal" that the ship's company, their partners, and family members were recognised.
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He said: "The King was interested in what they were doing, their favourite places to go, how fast we could go, how many jets we were getting off, about all the bombs that we were carrying.
"And about people and their families and how their families felt when they came home and the difficulties they were having.
"So it was quite interesting, that personal touch, especially with the other halves, understanding the difficulties of being away for a long time, and trying to reinsert themselves into that family unit."
Captain Ben Power described the reception as a "huge privilege" and "worthy recognition" for those in attendance.
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One attendee described meeting Charles as 'quite interesting'
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He said: "The Queen was interested in the welfare of the families, to understand the level of support that was provided by the Royal Navy to personnel who are left at home, who are often undertaking an even harder set of responsibilities, keeping things going.
"She was very keen to understand the challenges that the ship's company faced in the Red Sea, and she was very keen to understand what the ship will go on to do in 2026."
Petty officer Nathan Wonnacott, 33, from Plymouth, who had a medical role on board the ship, said that the Queen was "appreciative" and took an interest in where he was deployed.
He added that it was "great" to be home in time for Christmas.
It was the King and Queen's first joint appearance since he shared his cancer message
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'The Queen was interested in the welfare of the families'
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The couple's appearance together comes less than a week after the King delivered an update about his battle with cancer, sharing news that his treatment will be reduced.
The message, released as part of Stand Up To Cancer 2025, featured the monarch stating: "Today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to 'doctors' orders', my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the New Year.
"This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years; testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50 per cent of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives."
Charles explained the importance of being tested for cancer early, and a detail that troubles him deeply.
Captain Ben Power described the reception as a 'huge privilege'
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He said: "I have also learned something that troubles me deeply - at least nine million people in our country are not up to date with the cancer screenings available to them.
"That is at least nine million opportunities for early diagnosis being missed. The statistics speak with stark clarity.
"To take just one example: When bowel cancer is caught at the earliest stage, around nine in ten people survive for at least five years.
"When diagnosed late, that falls to just one in 10. Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."
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