A Royal Navy captain who appeared in a BBC documentary about life aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth has pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges, in what is believed to be the most senior naval officer to face such a trial in modern history.
Captain Chris Ansell, 49, appeared by video link at Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire, dressed in his military uniform, where he denied one count of rape, one of attempted sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault by penetration. He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas. The charges relate to alleged incidents between 2 and 3 February 2022, while Ansell was serving as second-in-command of the 65,000-tonne carrier. A six-day trial has been set for January 2027.
Judge Advocate General Alan Large told Ansell that if he failed to attend court without good reason, he could be committing a separate offence, and informed him that had he entered guilty pleas at this stage, he would have received credit for doing so.
Ansell had served as deputy commander of HMS Queen Elizabeth between November 2020 and February 2022, overseeing a ship’s company of 1,600 sailors, marines and aircrew. In an interview promoting the BBC documentary, he described the scope of the role in expansive terms. “I have to be mum and dad, big brother, policeman, mentor, coach, disciplinarian, counsellor, chief of staff — all things to the 1,600 sailors, marines and aircrew,” he said. He was promoted to Captain in February 2022 and subsequently transferred to the maritime headquarters at Northwood.
A father of two, Ansell joined the Royal Navy in 1997 and began his career in submarines before moving to the surface fleet. HMS Queen Elizabeth, launched in 2014, is the lead ship in the Royal Navy’s carrier fleet and has served in operations including deployments to the South China Sea.
The case is historically significant. Legal experts believe it represents the first time a captain has faced charges of this nature since Captain Edward Rigby was acquitted of sodomy at court martial in 1698, only to be convicted in a civilian court. The case comes weeks after Lieutenant Commander John Cursiter, the executive officer of a nuclear-armed submarine, was convicted of sexual assault and false imprisonment following a drug-fuelled attack on a junior sailor.
An MoD spokesperson said: “A member of the Royal Navy is facing charges of rape and sexual assault, following an investigation by Defence Serious Crime Command. It would be inappropriate to comment any further as legal proceedings are ongoing.”
