HRH The Princess Royal meets with Maritime UK and The Wellington Trust

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal met with Maritime UK and The Wellington Trust on Thursday 22nd October 2026.

The discussion, hosted on board HMS Wellington, provided a valuable opportunity for Maritime UK members and The Trust to discuss their work across the last year and reinforced the value in ensuring the sector moves forward collectively for the benefit of the industry, and nation, as a whole.

As Royal Patron of both Maritime UK and The Wellington Trust, The Princess Royal is a champion of the UK maritime sector, a sector which:

• makes a combined direct, indirect and induced contribution of more than £224bn in turnover and £63bn in GVA to the UK economy;
• supports the employment of more than 1.17m people;
• contributes £6.1bn to the UK Exchequer and £15.5bn to exports, and;
• connecting the UK to the rest of the world, including as a cornerstone for the UKs supply chains and sovereign security with 95% of the UKs food, fuel and supplies arriving by ship.

Brian Johnson, Chair of Maritime UK, said:

“The Princess Royal is an incredible ambassador for our nations maritime sector. Our latest meeting provided an invaluable opportunity for us to update on the vital contribution of the sector to the UK economy as well as our work across the last year supporting young people to engage with industry and ensure a strong skills pipeline for the sector in years to come.

It was also fantastic to hear from our members on the work they are doing across our diverse sector. The opportunities for maritime to secure investment in infrastructure, drive innovation, develop careers and skills and accelerate decarbonisation are enormous and I am incredibly proud of the work our members are undertaking together.”

Jenny Moseley, Trustee at The Wellington Trust, said:

“It is always an honour to host Her Royal Highness on board HMS Wellington and showcase the fantastic work the Trust is doing to support young people’s engagement with the maritime sector and our nations naval and trading history. As the only surviving convoy escort from the Battle of the Atlantic, HMS Wellington is more than just a landmark in our capital; it is a lasting beacon of the importance of seaborne trade to our island nation and a unique opportunity for our sector to engage our next generation of maritime leaders.”