Princess Anne to open museum exhibition in Portsmouth

Next month, the National Museum of the Royal Navy will welcome their patron Princess Anne to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to open Pioneers to Professionals: Women and the Royal Navy.

The event will also launch the Women’s Royal Naval Service Centenary’s (WRNS100) 100th anniversary celebrations.

The day will be attended by current serving personnel, veterans, WRNS100 representatives and the curatorial and exhibition team at the museum.

Victoria Ingles, curator of the exhibition, said: ‘The establishment of the Women’s Royal Naval Service 100 years ago was an important milestone in the employment of women within the Royal Navy.

‘Their achievements undoubtedly laid the foundations for the integrated naval service that we have today but it is also important to celebrate contribution of earlier female pioneers who lived and worked on naval ships long before this.’

The official opening will take place on the same day as International Women’s Day which is March 8.

The exhibition in turn celebrates women’s contribution to the naval services over the last 250 years. Pioneers to Professionals champions the early pioneers who fought for equal rights in the Royal Navy and tells the story of how women’s role has changed.