Britain’s Duke of Kent attended a lifeboat naming ceremony in Lowestoft yesterday (21.09.15).
Prince Edward – who is president of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) – spoke at the event on Sunday morning at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club, at which the Shannon class boat was given the name ‘Patsy Knight’.
He addressed the crowd: "I have every confidence that when the call comes, this craft and her crew will be equal to the demands placed on them and that the high standards and the proud traditions of the RNLI will be maintained."
The vessel was named after Patsy Knight, who died in May 2005 at the age of 63 and left a substantial amount of money from her estate to Lowestoft lifeboat station, one of the oldest in the British isles.
Crew from Dutch lifeboat station KNRM, the Netherlands Search and Rescue lifeboat station at Ijmuiden attended the historic ceremony along with two boats from the Gorleston station and one from Southwold.
A representative of Patsy’s family, Hilary Watts, said: "Patsy would have loved to have been here today to see how her generosity is benefitting the lifesavers that she always admired. It is a special day for everyone who knew her; it is like she has come home."
Prince Edward names new lifeboat
