Lt Chesterman studied mechanical engineering at the University of Southampton before attending the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

BBC: Lt Andrew Chesterman

The current sultan trained as an officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK and served in the British Army in the early 1960s.

ECONOMIST: Oman preserves friendly ties with both Iran and the West

In Qatar, the first course of a British-run staff college is due to begin this September and Kuwait has just chosen the UK to help run its own equivalent of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

BBC: 'East of Suez': Are UK forces returning?