Prince Phillip presented the crew with a maritime heritage award

The 3,618 sq ft sail was painstakingly restored ready to go on display in Portsmouth for the 200th anniversary of the British Navy's most famous victory.

The Duke of Edinburgh toured the city's historic dockyard and officially opened the sail exhibition on Friday.

It will form a central piece of the summer's anniversary celebrations.

I hope visitors will get a special insight into the battle when they see the shot holes made 200 years ago Lieutenant Commander Frank Nowosielski

In recognition of the restoration, the duke presented the crew with the World Ship Trust's Maritime Heritage Award, accepted by Vice Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent.

Lieutenant Commander Frank Nowosielski, commanding officer of HMS Victory, said: "It is a great honour to be able to display the only surviving sail from the Battle of Trafalgar to the public during this bicentennial year.

"HMS Victory's fore topsail is a unique artefact from the battle and from the period.

"It is a testament to the skill of the Georgian sail makers who manufactured the sail that it still remains intact today.

The sail was rediscovered in a gym in 1962

"I very much hope that all visitors to the sail exhibition will get a special insight into the dramatic nature of the battle when they see the shot holes made 200 years ago for themselves."

The sail measures 80ft at its base, weighs about 370kg, and would have taken experienced sail makers about 1,200 hours to stitch it together.

Manufactured in the sail loft at Chatham in 1803, the sail remained on HMS Victory until the ship returned for repairs after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1806.

It was displayed at an exhibition in 1891 and then on board HMS Victory for the centenary of Trafalgar in 1905.

It was discovered many years later in a sail loft at Victory barracks, now HMS Nelson, in 1960, covered by gym mats.

In 1998, the sail was exhibited at the Festival of the Sea in Portsmouth, when major restoration had yet to begin.

The precious artefact is now kept in environmentally-controlled conditions in Storehouse 10, within the Historic Dockyard.