Volunteers welcomed a senior royal at a new lifeboat station.

The Duke of Kent visited Dover RNLI on Wednesday as the charity marks 200 years of saving lives at sea.

The new station opened in June and more than 200 volunteers, crew and supporters were there to greet him.

His Royal Highness was given a tour of the new station, crew facilities, shop and exhibition centre.

He also boarded the Severn class all-weather lifeboat City of London II, which The Duke named in 1998.

The Duke met the operational crew as well as volunteers.

Accompanying the late Queen’s cousin was Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Kent, Brigadier Trevor Minter OBE and the newly appointed chief executive of the RNLI, Peter Sparkes.

The CEO said: “It was an honour to host The Duke of Kent at Dover Lifeboat Station, especially with it being such a special year.

“2024 not only marks the 200th anniversary of the RNLI but also the 55th anniversary of The Duke being our president.

“We are extremely grateful for The Duke’s unwavering support of our lifesaving work over the past 55 years and the team at Dover greatly enjoyed meeting His Royal Highness and sharing their experiences as part of the RNLI’s one crew.”

Those who met The Duke included boathouse manager Tony Hawkins MBE, who first met him at the naming ceremony of the City of London II in 1998 when he made His Royal Highness an honorary member of the station’s Winkle Club with the presentation of a winkle.

Tony joined Dover Lifeboat Station at the age of 16 and worked his way up through the ranks to become the coxswain, a position he held for 23 years.

In 1975, Tony was awarded the RNLI’s Bronze Medal for Gallantry for his role in the rescue of the Cypriot coaster Primrose onboard the station’s lifeboat RNLB Faithful Forrester which had been named by the then Duchess of Kent, president of the RNLI, in 1967.

Tony was made a Member of the British Empire for services to the charity in 1998 and earlier this year he was appointed a Freeman of Dover.

The Duke also met Jon Meill, launch authority and former coxswain. Jon was delighted to be able to thank the 88-year-old personally for an invitation to The Royal Foundation’s Together at Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey last December with his mother-in-law Catherine.

Mr Meill said: “We were so honoured to be part of such a special occasion in recognition of Catherine’s efforts to comfort some of the children rescued by the Dover crew by knitting small dolls to be given to them.

“It was very humbling to us both that the story of these dolls had reached The Duke and Catherine was nominated to attend for her selfless support to children and families.”

During the station tour, The Duke visited the RNLI shop where His Royal Highness met shop manager Lorna Hunt and nine of her team including one of the station’s longest-serving volunteers, Barbara Willey, who has volunteered for the RNLI for 29 years.

The visit concluded with The Duke presenting a special certificate to the station to commemorate the crew’s selfless commitment, courage and dependability in saving lives at sea. Jon Miell presented His Royal Highness with one of the knitted dolls made by his mother-in-law Catherine.

Founded in 1837, Dover RNLI has been based at multiple locations in and around the port area for 169 years.

Since 1855, Dover lifeboats have launched on service 2,694 times and saved 984 lives.

Last year, they launched 100 times, aided 1,364 people and saved five lives.

And today, the station operates a Severn class lifeboat – the largest in the RNLI’s fleet.

The Duke of Kent also visited Hornby Hobbies in Margate on Wednesday, which is celebrating 70 years at its current base.

With brands such as Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi in its portfolio, Hornby has been one of the longest-lasting British model-makers in modern history.