The Earl and Countess of Wessex were delighted to meet Mickey, an old sea-dog, when they were about to board a launch at the Royal Yacht Squadron marina on Friday.
Before inspecting the crew of Cowes RNLI lifeboat, which was to escort the launch to East Cowes Marina, the royal couple were greeted by the lifeboat station’s operations manager, Mark Southwell, and his ever-faithful Labrador.
The countess could not resist giving the Labrador a friendly pat.
Now 10 years old, Mickey is a familiar visitor to the local lifeboat station, where he is never tired of crunching his way through empty plastic water bottles.
The royal couple, who were heading to East Cowes on the second day of their two-day Island tour, visited St Mildred’s Church in Whippingham, Queensgate Foundation Primary School and Osborne House. They had attended a dinner at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes the night before.
