The Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster sailed up the Thames and under Tower Bridge, which was lifted to allow her to pass, before she moored at Tower Wharf, outside the almost 1,000 year old London castle.

Ancient rights dictated that every ship that came upstream to the City of London had to unload a portion of its cargo for the Constable, thus enjoying the protection of the Tower of London guns.

Today, the tradition of the Ceremony of the Constable's Dues is kept alive when every year the captain of a Royal Navy ship entering the Pool of London delivers a barrel of rum to the Constable.

The captain and his crew are firstly challenged for entry to the Tower by the Yeoman Gaoler, the second-in-command of the Body of Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters).

The captain and his naval ratings then march through the Tower of London, accompanied by Yeoman Warders in State Dress and a Corps of Drums, to Tower Green, where the Constable is presented with the barrel of rum. Afterwards, all retire to Queen's House on Tower Green, the oldest surviving timber building in the City, to sample the contents.

Leading the crew of HMS Westminster into the Tower this year was Commander David Fields who said:

"It was an immense honour and privilege for HMS Westminster to have taken part in the ancient Ceremony of the Constable's Dues at the Tower of London. Traditions such as this allow us to look back at our Naval and National heritage, take great pride in our history and build on it for the future. Knowing where we have come from allows us to understand where we are going."

HMS Westminster was launched on 4 February 1992 and commissioned into service in 1994. One of her more unusual claims to fame was when she was used for the interior shots in the James Bond film 'Tomorrow Never Dies'.

She enjoys excellent relations with the City of Westminster, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the Worshipful Company of Fanmakers and London Underground (Westminster Station of course!).

This visit to London is the last journey made by Commander Fields as Officer Commanding Westminster. He handed over the command of the ship while in London to Commander Ken Houlberg:

"I am delighted that my final port of call as captain of HMS Westminster should be to her home city," said Commander Fields. "It's a fitting end to my time in command and gives me the chance to thank the people of the City of Westminster for all the help and support they have shown me during my tenure."

The 13 Type 23 frigates of the Royal Navy are the mainstay of the modern surface fleet forming 50 per cent of the total frigate/destroyer force. Originally designed for the principal task of anti-submarine warfare, they have evolved into multi-purpose ships with the capability to operate anywhere in the world, conducting operations that include embargo enforcement and maritime security operations using boarding teams from the ship's boats or helicopter, disaster relief work and surveillance operations.

Following a six and a half month deployment to the Far East in 2006, this year has seen HMS Westminster focus on training and essential maintenance, rejuvenating herself ready to deploy for another six months in January 2008. She has just concluded Exercise Neptune Warrior - a rigorous training exercise off the west coast of Scotland, which saw the Royal Navy and units from other Naval Allies divide into two opposing sides and exercise real time tactics and warfare against each other.

The Ceremony of the Constable's Dues came about after the City of London became angered at paying tolls to the Kings of Britain during the Middle Ages. Successive Kings believed it was their right to extract tolls from vessels on the Thames. On the King's behalf the Constable of the Tower of London was empowered to demand these tolls as a perquisite of his office.

In 1381, King Richard II issued a grant that set out in detail what he believed to be a fair list of tolls, one of which required that every galley passing the Tower should present 'two roundlets of wyne' to the Constable. Such tolls continued to the 17th Century when the volume of traffic on the Thames had increased to such an extent that it was no longer feasible. It is in recent years that the tradition has been revived.