Planes, trains and the yacht Britannia: The 1959 royal visit
Opening of st. lawrence seaway was just one stop in 45-day tour that included chicago, social sharing.
When Queen Elizabeth visited Canada with her husband, Prince Philip, in 1959, CBC was there to cover it every stop of the way, from their landing in Torbay, N.L., to their departure six weeks later.
And when the CBC's Joyce Davidson, a host of the evening current affairs program Tabloid , suggested such heavy coverage might have exceeded the public appetite, the network suspended her.
"Like most Canadians, I'm indifferent to the visit of the Queen," Davidson had told an NBC morning show the day the royal couple arrived, according to the Toronto Star.
The comment became front-page news and Davidson was temporarily kicked off Tabloid .
'A little annoyed'
Davidson had been in New York that week as a guest on Today with host Dave Garroway. He seemed "surprised" by the comment, and Davidson elaborated.
"We're a little annoyed at still being dependent," she said.
Lyle Brown, director of information for the CBC, said management did not share Davidson's view.
"If we were uninterested, needless to say, we would not be expending such efforts to cover the royal visit fully," he said, and cited a viewership of five million for live coverage of a speech by the Queen in Canada in 1957.
A first for Newfoundland
The tour starts in Torbay, N.L.
It was a "beautiful summer day" when the Queen's plane landed at the Canadian air base in Torbay, N.L., said host Bill Herbert on the first event of the tour to be carried on live television.
"It is the first live telecast ever from Newfoundland," said Herbert.
The technological development that was made possible by the completion of the east-west microwave network.
Gov. Gen.Vincent Massey was first to greet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after they descended the stairs from the aircraft.
Lengthy itinerary
According to a detailed tour itinerary in the Globe and Mail published in January 1959, shortly after the tour was announced, the pair spent time in St. John's and Corner Brook, N.L., before moving on to Sept-Îles, Que. to board the royal yacht Britannia.
Along the way, they travelled to Schefferville in northern Quebec for a tour of what was reported by the CBC to be the province's northernmost mine.
Film taken by CBC of much of the 1959 royal tour survives, but much of it is silent.
Crowds at namesake hotel
A ball in Montreal
After getting on the Britannia, the Queen and Prince Philip travelled down the St. Lawrence River, stopping along the way and reaching Montreal on June 25, 1959.
The night, they attended a ball at the city's Queen Elizabeth Hotel, which had been built by the Canadian National Railway and opened the year before.
"During the dinner ... Her Majesty was seated beside His Eminence Cardinal Léger," said Herbert as the CBC camera was fixed on the tiara-wearing Queen. "They carried on a very animated conversation during almost the entire meal."
The room was crowded with guests, many of whom were massed directly in front of the head table to get a prolonged look at Elizabeth.
"Now they are motioning the crowd to get back a bit more," said Herbert after going into considerable detail about the 14-room royal suite. "As soon as the crowd gets back ... the orchestra will begin playing."
Tribute to a president
A speech at the seaway
The next day, June 26, the Queen officially inaugurated the "great joint enterprise between our two countries" that was the St. Lawrence Seaway and welcomed U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower to Canada.
"The president of the United States will always be welcome here. But today there is an added pleasure and special warmth in our greeting," she said.
The speech went on to recognize Eisenhower's role in the Second World War as "one of the great military leaders who brought the free world through the most severe crisis of modern times."
Following the speech, the royal couple were shown boarding the Britannia along with Eisenhower, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and their wives for a voyage on the Seaway.
Following Ontario stops in Brockville, Kingston and Toronto, next on the itinerary was Ottawa for Dominion Day on July 1, where Elizabeth addressed the country outside Rideau Hall.
Two days later, after more Ontario towns, the royal couple boarded the Britannia again in Windsor and took a route through the Great Lakes north to Parry Sound, Ont.
A trip on the Great Lakes
On July 5, 1959, the CBC news program Newsmagazine brought viewers the day's headlines, wrapping up by recapping the royals' movements.
"The Queen and Prince Philip are aboard the Chicago-bound royal yacht," said an unnamed newsreader. "Today was their first full day of rest since the tour began 16 days and some 2,000 handshakes ago."
Chicago, meanwhile, was planning "the loudest and most glittering welcome Chicagoans have ever given to any visitor."
The program showed viewers pictures of the royal couple in Parry Sound on July 4, which was part of a "hurried Muskoka tour" where they received a "warm" and "informal" welcome from vacationers, according to the newsreader.
The visitors had shaken a mayor's hand for "the sixth time in six hours," remarked the newsreader in voiceover.
"It was a tired Queen that bade goodbye to Eastern Canada," said the newsreader.
By that point, the tour wasn't even half over. The Queen and Prince Philip would go on to take in the Calgary Stampede and visit all seven remaining provinces plus both territories, leaving from Halifax by air on Aug. 1.
A special royal tour issue of the Globe and Mail published three days later sold out.
Six days after their return to London, the Queen and Prince Philip announced they were expecting their third child. The Queen had learned she was pregnant with Prince Andrew during the visit. Diefenbaker was told, but not the public.
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The Royal Yacht Britannia : A History of Queen Elizabeth II’s Favorite Palace
By Lisa Liebman
The christening of The Royal Yacht Britannia serves as a cheeky season opener to The Crown . Black-and-white Pathé News–style footage shows a soon-to-be-crowned Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) cheered on by shipbuilders as she launches her new 412-foot yacht. “I hope that this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant. Capable of weathering any storm,” she says about the royal replacement for the Victoria and Albert III . By the series’ season finale, set 44 years later, both the sovereign and the floating palace she christened Britannia will have hit rough seas—the cost of repairing the creaky old vessel and the modern role of the monarchy both in question. Ultimately, the yacht that undertook 968 official voyages all over the world, hosting dignitaries—including 13 US presidents—at receptions and banquets, was dry-docked near Edinburgh, Scotland, where it continues to be a popular tourist attraction. Here are some of the most buoyant facts about the palace the Queen famously said was “the one place where I can truly relax.”
The sun room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981.
In a nod to the country’s post-war austerity, Elizabeth scaled back the design of the ship that her father, King George VI, had commissioned just two days before he died. Rather than following the opulent plan laid out by the Scottish firm McInnes Gardner & Partners, she opted for the understated elegance envisioned by architect Sir Hugh Casson, who described “running a lawn mower over the Louis XVIl adornments” in favor of simple white walls, lilac-gray carpeting, and “a bit of gilding in grand places.” Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip, were said to have personally chosen the furniture—much of it, including linens, recycled from the Victoria and Albert —fabrics (florals, chintz, toile), and paintings.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana on board the Royal Yacht Britannia as they prepare to depart on their honeymoon cruise in 1981.
As a former Royal Navy Commander, Prince Phillip also saw to the ship’s technical details, and his Bluebottle racing yacht inspired the Britannia ’s navy-hued hull. Outer decks were made of two-inch Burmese teak. The steering wheel was reclaimed from Britannia ’s namesake, King Edward VII’s 1893 racing yacht; a wheelhouse wheel came from George V’s racing yacht; and a gold-and-white binnacle (housing the ship’s compass) was salvaged from King George III’s yacht and installed on the Veranda deck. Fittings from former royal ships were also reused.
The drawing room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1978.
The 4,000-ton yacht had a crew of 220 Royal Yachtsmen who lived on board, about 45 household staff, and occasionally a 26-member Royal Marine embarked to entertain dignitaries. The monarch often welcomed guests from the ship’s grand staircase. (Stairs leading from the Veranda to the Royal deck were sometimes transformed into a water slide for the kids.) Britannia ’s apartments were designed like those of a first-class ocean liner. A 56-seat state dining room, where many of the gifts given to the monarch (a wood-carved shark from Pitcairn Island, a bejeweled gold statue from Bangkok) were displayed, was the scene of formal dinners with guests such as Sir Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Nelson Mandela, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. More intimate gatherings were held in the Queen’s official reception room, a smaller state drawing room with floral upholstered pieces, simple wood tables, an electric fireplace, and a Welmar baby grand piano bolted to the deck—played by everyone from Sir Noël Coward to Princesses Diana and Margaret. The teak-clad sun lounge, with rattan furniture and a toile loveseat, was Elizabeth’s favorite place—where she had her breakfast, afternoon tea, and also enjoyed her favorite Dubonnet and gin cocktails.
The Queen’s sitting room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981.
By Nora Taylor
By Elizabeth Fazzare
By Katherine McLaughlin
A ship elevator reserved for royal use moved between the Upper and Shelter Decks. The latter is where four Royal Apartments (bedrooms), including the Queen and Prince Phillip’s connecting compartments, were located. Hers featured florals, his had red accents. Elizabeth’s understated Upper Deck private sitting room, done in pastels and neutrals, served as the office where she conducted state business. Phillip used his sitting room, with its wood desk facing a model of his first command, the HMS Magpie , as his study. Below deck there was a wine cellar, as well as a cargo hold that could carry a barge, speed- and sailboats, plus a royal Range Rover and Rolls-Royce. The yacht could also be converted into a hospital (though it never was).
The Queen shed a tear at the decommissioning ceremony for thye Royal Yacht Britannia.
As depicted in The Crown, Britannia ’s final official trip was to Hong Kong in 1997, where Prince Charles attended the handover of the territory to China. By then, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration was complaining that the £11 million a year needed to keep the boat afloat couldn’t be justified. With Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and all of their children in attendance, Britannia was decommissioned at a ceremony in Portsmouth, England on December 11, 1997, with the monarch seen wiping away a tear. The yacht, now docked in Leith, Scotland, is open to the public as a museum and events space. (Prior to their wedding, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips’s daughter Zara Phillips and her fiancé Mike Tindall had a celebration there.) Visitors will note that every clock on board reads 3:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked her beloved Britannia for the final time on that December day.
By Rachel Davies
By Claudia Williams
By Michelle Duncan
By Katie Schultz
Secrets of the Royal Yacht Britannia
Town & Country took a tour of the famous vessel which served the royal family for more than 40 years and has reopened as a tourist attraction.
Wondering about the royal family's yacht as you watch this season of The Crown ? In light of its appearance on the Netflix series, we're resurfacing this story from 2021 :
While plans to build a successor to boost Britain’s trade continue to attract criticism, Britannia is once again attracting hordes of visitors after being forced to close because of COVID-19. And it’s no surprise, because from being able to look right into the Queen’s bedroom to learning about what life was like for the up to 220 yachtsmen on board, this is a boat with some fascinating stories to tell.
Town & Country went aboard to learn the secrets of this much-loved vessel. Here’s our pick of the best royal tales.
The ship was altered with royal skirts in mind.
Many photographs of the Royal Yacht Britannia show the family waving from the Royal Bridge as the vessel departed from or arrived at its destination. And the bow of the ship was specially adapted to make sure these public moments did not reveal more than was intended. “The curved teak windbreak was a later feature, added for modesty’s sake, to prevent sea breezes from lifting royal skirts,” visitors to Britannia are told.
It was a struggle to get the royal car on board.
When the 412-ft yacht was built in 1953, it was considered important that it had a garage to house the Queen’s Rolls Royce. However, getting the car on board was no easy feat. “First, the car, in its transporter, had to be hoisted onto the special track that is fitted into the deck. Even then, it could only be squeezed into the Garage by removing its bumpers,” Britannia’s guide notes. Thankfully, in later years the Queen usually traveled in a car from the country she was visiting which meant that the garage was eventually used as a beer store.
Britannia was designed to avoid any peeking into the royal bedrooms.
Now, visitors to Britannia get a full view of the Queen and Prince Philip’s (separate) bedrooms, albeit through glass. However, when the ship was in use it was important that no-one could peek into these rooms. Pointing out that the windows looking into these areas are “higher than anywhere else on the Yacht,” Britannia’s guide explains: “By placing them at this height above the deck, any accidental glimpses into the royal bedrooms could be prevented.”
There were lots of people on board—but not everyone traveled in style.
One of the most fascinating things about touring the yacht is looking into the living quarters—from the relatively luxurious rooms of the Queen and Prince Philip and the ship’s Admiral, to the officers’ comfortable sitting room and dining room, to the approximately 220 yachtsmen who lived, slept, and worked, as the guide describes “in fairly cramped conditions.” Tourists are told: “Britannia was a ship in which hierarchy was strongly defined.” And there were plenty of people to accommodate. Some 45 working members of the royal household accompanied the Queen on her overseas visits.
The Queen favored neutrals while Philip liked darker colors.
As the yacht was build with their use in mind, the Queen and Prince Philip both had a say in the ship’s design and as such, it gives a some insight into their taste. The Queen’s (single) bed has a specially-commissioned embroidered silk panel above it, and her room is decorated in pale and neutral colors. By contrast, Philip’s room features vibrant maroon linen and curtains and, at his request, his pillows, unlike the Queen’s “do not have lace on the borders.”
There is only one double bed.
The honeymoon suite on the yacht is opposite the Queen and Philip’s bedrooms. “This is the only room on Britannia with a double bed which was brought on board by Prince Charles when he honeymooned on the Yacht with Princess Diana,” tourists are told. “When the Royal Children were small, this bedrooms and the adjoining room were used as nursery suites.”
The royal children liked to eat jelly on board.
Food on board Britannia was prepared in three galleys—one for the yachtsmen, one for the officers and one for the royal household. Buckingham Palace chefs were flown out to prepare royal food and there was a room that, according to Britannia’s guide, was known as the Jelly Room “for it was in here that the royal children’s jellies were stored.”
There is a dance floor that hasn’t been used for 50 years.
The largest room on Britannia is the State Dining Room where lavish banquets were held. It could also be used as a cinema room. “The silver-grey carpet could also be rolled up to expose a wooden dance floor beneath, although the last time this was used was for Princess Anne’s 21st birthday celebrations,” the guide notes.
Prince Philip kept a reminder of his naval career in his office.
Just like their separate bedrooms, the Queen and Philip had separate offices on board Britannia. Philip’s had a “specially designed display case,” the ship’s guide notes, in which he kept “a model of HMS Magpie, His Royal Highness’s first naval command.” The Duke of Edinburgh famously gave up his active naval career in 1951 to support his wife in her duties when King George VI’s health was ailing.
The ship was ready for stormy seas.
The royal family and their guests relaxed in the drawing room, which featured a grand piano. The instrument was played by members of the family and even some of their famous guests, including composer Noel Coward. “The Welmar baby grand piano cost £350 when it was supplied in 1952, and is firmly bolted to the deck to stop it taking off in choppy seas,” tourists are told.
Once the royal laundry turned blue.
Walking through the laundry at the end of the tour provides an insight into what was once a “hot and noisy environment.” Some 600 shirts could pass through the laundry in one day, with the royal family’s washing done on separate days to that of the crew. Britannia’s audio guide recounts “one occasion when the royal washing turned a delicate shade of blue, and Her Majesty’s Dresser was less than amused. The cause, it turned out, was a chemical reaction in the copper pipes, which was quickly remedied by adjusting the pH value of the water.”
For more information and to book tickets visit royalyachtbrittania.co.uk
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures , released in 2021.
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The Royal Yacht Britannia Has a Fascinating History—Here's Everything You Should Know
It doesn't get more majestic than Queen Elizabeth II's yacht.
Seventy years ago, the Britannia began its journey as the royal yacht for Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Over the next 44 years she’d travel more than a million nautical miles and, in all her glamour and old world elegance, served as a residence that welcomed state visits from all over the world and family holidays alike. Then and now, she was and is a majestic symbol of the British Commonwealth and the reign of Queen Elizabeth II .
“Britannia is special for a number of reasons,” Prince Phillip once said. “Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace or just a house. The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia. As such she is a splendid example of contemporary British design and technology.”
Although she retired from service in 1997, today the Britannia, one of many of the world's grandest yachts , is docked in Edinburgh, where she is open as a visitors’ attraction and host of private events. Below we give you all the Royal Yacht Britannia facts you might want to know, from who owns the yacht now to why she was decommissioned to how fast she is to how to get tickets to visit. Britannia was, after all, the one place the queen said she could “truly relax,” so why not see why for yourself?
Royal Yacht Britania Facts and History
On February 4, 1952, John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, received the order from the Admiralty to build a new Royal Yacht to travel the globe and double as a hospital ship in times of war, according to the royal yacht's website . King George VI passed away two days after, sadly, and so on April 16, 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II announced the yacht’s new name as the ship was revealed.
"I name this ship Britannia,” she said. “I wish success to her and all who sail in her." Britannia was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1954 and by April of that year sailed into her first overseas port: Grand Harbour, Malta.
The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh worked with interior designer Sir Hugh Casson for the ship to serve as both a functional Royal Navy vessel and an elegant royal residence. Queen Elizabeth II selected deep blue for Britannia’s hull, instead of the more traditional black. Its Naval crew included 220 Yachtsmen, 20 officers, and three season officers—plus a Royal Marines Band of 26 men during Royal Tours.
All of them might have had to change uniform up to six times a day, so the laundry service on board worked nonstop. The yacht also engaged in British overseas trade missions known as Sea Days and made an estimated £3 billion for the Exchequer between 1991 and 1995 alone.
The ship’s wheel was taken from King Edward VII’s racing yacht, also named Britannia, according to Boat International , and the 126-meter ship could reach speeds of 22.75 knots, or a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots, according to Super Yacht Times . Other fun facts: The yacht could produce her own fresh water from sea water, and shouting was forbidden aboard to preserve tranquility, favoring hand signals for Naval orders instead.
Over the next 44 years, the Britannia would sail the equivalent of once around the world for each year, in total visiting 600 ports in 135 countries. Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones were the first of four couples to honeymoon on the ship in 1960, gifting them all privacy to sail to secluded locations. Prince Charles and Princess Diana followed in 1981 on the Mediterranean as well as Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips before them in 1973 in the Caribbean and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 in the Azores.
For family vacations aboard the ship, games, treasure hunts, plays, and picnics were organized, and on warm days the children could play in an inflatable paddling pool on the Verandah Deck.
In the Sun Lounge, the queen especially enjoyed taking breakfast and afternoon tea with views through large picture windows, a space you can see replicated in the TV show The Crown. Although no filming took place on board the Britannia for the show, researchers ensured scenes aboard it were accurate. In the queen’s bedroom, the resemblance is seen down to the decorative wall light fittings and embroidered silk panel above her bed that had been specially commissioned.
In 1997, the ship was decommissioned after the government decided the costs to refit it would be too great. On its final day in her service that followed a farewell tour around the U.K., the queen openly wept as the Band of HM Royal Marines played "Highland Cathedral."
"Looking back over 44 years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction," Queen Elizabeth II said. All clocks on the ship stopped at 15:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked from the yacht for the final time, and they would remain at that time until the present.
How to Tour the Royal Yacht Britania
Today the yacht is owned by Royal Yacht Britannia Trus t, and all revenue it generates goes to the yacht’s maintenance and preservation. Ticketed entry allows you to step into state rooms like the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room and State Drawing Room, in addition to the working side of the ship in the Crew’s Quarters, Laundry and gleaming Engine Room. Along the way you will see original artifacts from the shop—95 percent of which is on loan from The Royal Collection.
How to Visit the Royal Britania
You can visit the Britannia any day of the year on Edinburgh’s waterfront. Hours vary by season, and you can find them listed and purchase tickets on the yacht’s website . Private tours are also available, and you can visit the Royal Deck Tearoom, where the Royal Family hosted cocktail parties and receptions, for drinks, meals and scones. Additionally, the Britannia hosts special ticketed events for New Year’s and other occasions, and event spaces can be booked as well.
While you are in Edinburgh, you can also stay on the Fingal , a neighboring yacht-turned-floating-hotel, which is a seven-minute walk from the Britannia, and dine at its Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar, which serves breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner, and cocktails.
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Britannia 's predecessor, HMY Victoria and Albert III , is pictured at anchor in the Solent off Portsmouth harbor. Built for Queen Victoria , this was the first royal yacht not to be powered by sail. She was decommissioned in 1939.
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The new Royal Yacht Britannia enters the water after her launch on April 16, 1953 by Queen Elizabeth II at John Brown's shipyard on Clydebank, Scotland. The 126-m (413-ft) Britannia was designed with three masts and could reach a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots.
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A crowd gathers to bid the Royal Yacht Britannia farewell upon her departure from Portsmouth, England, on April 14, 1954 on her maiden voyage to Malta. The vessel was ultimately bound for Tobruk, in Libya.
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On board the vessel were Prince Charles and Princess Anne, pictured here before the yacht's departure shaking hands with the Admiral Superintendent of Portsmouth dockyard. The Queen Mother is keeping an eye on the royal youngsters.
© Getty Images
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh embarked on Britannia for the first time in Tobruk on May 1, 1954, at the end of the royal couple's Commonwealth tour. They are pictured with King Idris and other officials.
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London crowds gather along the banks of the River Thames to greet Britannia , with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh aboard, as it passes under Tower Bridge on its way to Westminster on May 15, 1954, at the end of its inaugural voyage.
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Chicago's July 1959 royal welcome for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh was overwhelming. Some 6,000 vessels of all sizes jammed the harbor area to greet Britannia after having sailed the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway. Queen Elizabeth, the first British monarch to visit Chicago, is pictured being welcomed by Illinois Governor William Straton. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower had been a guest during part of the voyage, having been invited to take part in the opening ceremony of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
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Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh pass cheering Canadians and Americans during the royal couple's tour of Canada. They were in Windsor, Ontario, with Britannia and the American city of Detroit in the backdrop.
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HMY Britannia soon proved her worth as an ideal honeymoon cruise vessel. Princess Margaret and her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, were the first royal couple to enjoy their honeymoon at sea, in 1960. Their voyage started a tradition where the yacht could access secluded locations away from the world's press to provide just-married British royalty with the privacy they desired.
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Escorted by an armada of small craft, Britannia , bearing Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, arrives off Sydney Heads during their tour of Australia in 1963. Three escorting destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy follow in her wake.
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Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Anne, and Earl Mountbatten on board the Britannia at Spithead on the south coast of England during the Queen's review of the 62 ships of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) fleet. This ceremony formed part of NATO's 20th-anniversary celebrations.
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Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh admire a gift received after the monarch opened the new accommodation of Lloyd's Register of Shipping at the society's City of London headquarters. The gift was a silver model replica of the Royal Yacht Britannia .
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Queen Elizabeth II with her sons Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, and Prince Charles on the deck of the Britannia as they arrive to attend the Olympic Games on July 1, 1976 in Montreal, Canada. Absent is Princess Anne, who was an athlete competing for the British equestrian team at the Summer Olympic Games that year.
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The Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 marked the 25th anniversary of the monarch's accession to the British throne. Among the series of year-long events was the Silver Jubilee Review of the Fleet at Spithead, off Portsmouth in southern England. Britannia sailed past dozens of Royal Navy vessels anchored in the Solent on June 28, 1977.
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Later in the summer, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a Commonwealth visit that first brought them to island nations such as Fiji and Tonga. Pictured is the royal couple receiving and being entertained by Fijian folk and traditional dancers on board Britannia . The voyage continued later with longer stints in New Zealand and Australia.
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In October 1977, the Royal Yacht Britannia anchored off Road Harbor during Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the British Virgin Islands as part of her Silver Jubilee tour of the Caribbean.
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A six-nation tour of the Gulf States, the first ever by a female Head of State, took place in early 1979. The Queen and Prince Philip flew into the region before setting sail from Kuwait aboard Britannia .
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The newly-wedded Prince Charles and Diana , Princess of Wales leave Gibraltar on Britannia for their honeymoon cruise, which commenced on July 31, 1981.
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Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with US President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy on board Britannica during an official tour of America in 1983. A banquet was held on the vessel on March 4, 1983 to celebrate the Reagan's wedding anniversary.
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The Reagan's dined in Britannia 's grand dining room (pictured), which could host up to 56 guests. The dining room was set within the ship's royal apartments and included a lounge, drawing room, and guest bedrooms.
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This is the menu for dinner when Queen Elizabeth entertained President Reagan and other dignitaries on the Royal Yacht Britannia during the royal visit to San Francisco, California.
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Joining Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their 17-day tour of Italy's sights and cities in April-May 1985 was Prince William and Prince Harry. The family are seen on board Britannia at Venice.
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Many Italians described the tour as a "second honeymoon" for the royal couple. Meanwhile, cities like Venice certainly provided a beautiful and historic backdrop for HMY Britannia .
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In January 1986, Queen Elizabeth's luxury yacht rescued over 500 people of nearly 50 different nationalities from war-torn South Yemen and evacuated them to Djibouti. Britannia maneuvered close to a beach east of Aden to pick up civilians caught in the violent unrest after fighting broke out in the wake of a failed coup d'etat, which quickly escalated into civil war.
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Growing up fast, Prince William and Prince Harry wear baseball-style caps given to them by the crew of the Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa after they toured the ship that was moored alongside Britannia on the Toronto waterfront. Charles and Diana were in Canada in late October 1991 as part of a royal tour.
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June 6, 1994 marked the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. To mark the historic occasion, Britannia and her royal passengers joined a colorful fleet review off Portsmouth and Gosport, in southern England.
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The Queen, Heads of State, and their wives aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia for the D-Day 50th anniversary celebrations, US President Bill Clinton among them. Besides hosting politically- and diplomatically-themed functions, Britannia held numerous "Sea Days"— British overseas trade missions to promote business, trade, and industry around the globe.
© BrunoPress
27 / 35 Fotos
Among the many VIPs who wined and dined onboard Britannia was President Nelson Mandela, pictured here in 1995. Other guests welcomed onboard over the years include Winton Churchill and celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.
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The handover ceremony of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, which marked the transfer of sovereignty over the territory from the UK to China, was the Royal Yacht's final foreign mission. Britannia had been scheduled for decommissioning.
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Britannia is pictured returning to Portsmouth in November 1997. The vessel would be decommissioned the following month. Thousands of well-wishers lined the shore and gathered at the entrance to the harbor to witness the historic moment as the grand old lady of the seas arrived at the end of her farewell tour of Britain.
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On December 11, 1997, after 44 years in royal service, Britannia was retired from the seas. The late Queen, normally undemonstrative, was seen wiping away a tear during the decommissioning service, which was also attended by Prince Philip and Prince Charles.
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HMY Britannia sailed to Scotland and began a new role as a visitor attraction moored in the historic Port of Leith in Edinburgh.
© Shutterstock
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Britannia still hosts the occasional royal get-together. Pictured on July 29, 2011 are Kate and William arriving for an evening reception onboard the royal yacht to celebrate the impending wedding of Zara Phillips (the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II) and Mike Tindall.
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Today the Royal Yacht Britannia is one of Scotland's most popular tourist attractions.
Sources: (SuperYacht Times) (Royal Yacht Britannia) (CBC Archives) (The Royal Watcher) (United Press International) (AP News)
See also: All aboard! Vintage photographs of celebrities at sea
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Getty Images
Getty Images
Shutterstock
A voyage through the history of the HMY Britannia
Embark on a nostalgic tour of the late queen's luxury yacht.
19/07/23 | StarsInsider
LIFESTYLE Royalty
T here's a long tradition of British royal yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II. During 44 years in royal service, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia , also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia , sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries, including the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, and has so far not been replaced. But it's worth looking back over the illustrious service performed by the royal yacht.
Click through and be reminded of when Britannia ruled the waves.
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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds
- 20th Century
10 Facts About Royal Yacht Britannia
Peta Stamper
28 nov 2022.
The 83rd and last in a long line of royal yachts, HMY Britannia has become one of the most famous ships in the world. Now permanently moored at Edinburgh’s Port of Leith, the floating palace is a visitor attraction welcoming some 300,000 people aboard each year.
For Queen Elizabeth II, Britannia was the ideal residence for state visits and peaceful royal family holidays and honeymoons. For the British public, Britannia was a symbol of Commonwealth. For the 220 naval officers who lived aboard Britannia , and the royal family, the 412-foot-long yacht was home.
Having travelled more than a million nautical miles over 44 years of service to the British Crown, Her Majesty’s beloved boat was decommissioned in 1997. Here are 10 facts about life aboard HMY Britannia.
1. Britannia was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953 using a bottle of wine, not champagne
Champagne is traditionally smashed against a ship’s hull during launching ceremonies. However, in a post-war climate champagne was seen as too frivolous, so a bottle of Empire wine was used instead.
Britannia launched from the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland.
2. Britannia was the 83rd Royal Yacht
King George VI , Elizabeth II’s father, had first commissioned the royal yacht that would become Britannia in 1952. The previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria and was rarely used. The tradition of royal yachts had been started by Charles II in 1660.
George decided that the Royal Yacht Britannia should both be a regal vessel as well as a functional one.
3. Britannia had two emergency functions
Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, although that function was never used. Additionally, as part of the Cold War plan Operation Candid, in the event of nuclear war the ship would become a refuge off the north-west coast of Scotland for the Queen and Prince Philip.
4. Her maiden voyage was from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour in Malta
She carried Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at the end of the royal couple’s Commonwealth tour. The Queen stepped aboard Britannia for the first time in Tobruk on 1 May 1954.
Over the next 43 years, Britannia would transport the Queen, members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on some 696 foreign visits.
The HMY Britannia on a visit by the Queen to Canada in 1964
Image Credit: Royal Canadian Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
5. Britannia hosted some of the 20th century’s most notable figures
In July 1959, Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway to Chicago where she docked, making the Queen the first British monarch to visit the city. US President Dwight Eisenhower hopped aboard Britannia for part of the journey.
In later years, Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton would also step aboard. Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, took their honeymoon cruise on Britannia in 1981.
6. The crew were volunteers from the Royal Navy
After 365 days’ service, crew members could be admitted to the Permanent Royal Yacht Service as Royal Yachtsmen (‘Yotties’) and serve until they either chose to leave or were dismissed. As a result, some yachtsmen served on Britannia for over 20 years.
The crew also included a detachment of Royal Marines, who would dive underneath the ship each day while moored away from home to check for mines or other threats.
7. All royal children were allocated a ‘Sea Daddy’ on board the ship
The ‘sea daddies’ were primarily tasked with looking after the children and keeping them entertained (games, picnics and water fights) during voyages. They also oversaw the children’s chores, including cleaning the life rafts.
8. There was a ‘Jelly Room’ onboard for the royal children
The yacht had a total of three galley kitchens where Buckingham Palace ‘s chefs prepared meals. Among these galleys was a chilled room called the ‘Jelly Room’ for the sole purpose of storing royal children’s jellied desserts.
9. It cost around £11 million every year to run Britannica
The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. In 1994, another expensive refit for the ageing vessel was proposed. Whether or not to refit or commission a new royal yacht entirely came down to the election result of 1997. With repairs at a proposed cost of £17 million, Tony Blair’s new Labour government were unwilling to commit public funds to replace Britannica.
HMY Britannia in 1997, London
Image Credit: Chris Allen, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
10. All the clocks on board remain stopped at 3:01pm
In December 1997, Britannia was officially decommissioned. The clocks have been kept at 3:01pm – the exact moment the Queen went ashore for the last time following the ship’s decommissioning ceremony, during which the Queen shed a rare public tear.
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The ship has made several appearances in Netflix's "The Crown," including season five.
The Royal Yacht Britannia served as the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997. The Queen shed a rare public tear when it was decommissioned.
The first episode of season five of Netflix's "The Crown" flashes back to 1954, when Queen Elizabeth christened the Royal Yacht Britannia, and shows the royal family spending time aboard the luxurious ship.
Later on in the episode, when asked if Balmoral is her favorite home, Imelda Staunton's Queen Elizabeth replies, "There is another that's even more special to me," alluding to the Royal Yacht being her favorite.
Despite the Queen's fondness for the Britannia, the Labour government decided to decommission it in 1997 due to its high operation cost of £11 million each year, Reuters reported . That's equivalent to about $23 million today.
At the decommissioning ceremony, the Queen shed a rare public tear .
Shouting was forbidden on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Officers wore gym shoes to stay silent near areas where the royal family ate and slept, according to the yacht's official website .
Children were assigned an officer known as a "sea daddy" to look over them while onboard.
"Sea daddies" kept royal children entertained with activities like treasure hunts and water fights.
There was a room aboard the ship called the "Jelly Room" that existed for the sole purpose of storing royal children's jellies, a gelatin dessert that Americans might call "Jell-O."
In addition to the chilled "Jelly Room," the yacht had a total of three galley kitchens where chefs from Buckingham Palace prepared meals.
The State Dining Room tables, which could seat 56 people, took three hours to set.
The location of each utensil was measured meticulously with a ruler, according to the book " Royal Transport: An Inside Look at the History of Royal Travel " by Peter Pigott.
All of the clocks onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia are stopped at 3:01 pm.
The clocks are frozen at the time the Queen stepped off the ship for the last time during its decommissioning ceremony in December 1997.
The ship had a full-time staff of more than 240 yachtsmen, known as "yotties."
The Royal Yacht Britannia cost an estimated $15 million to operate each year, Reuters reported .
The "yotties" had a daily ration of rum until the 1970s.
Yotties carried out a range of duties , including scrubbing the decks, polishing silverware, arranging flowers, and diving beneath the ship to search the seabed.
The former royal yachtsmen reunite annually to help maintain the ship.
Founded in 1989, the Association of Royal Yachtsmen organizes reunions and an annual dinner and dance.
With its many royal family vacations and official tours, the yacht logged over one million miles, the equivalent of one trip around the world for each of its 44 years at sea.
The ship docked at over 600 ports in 135 countries .
Read the original article on Insider
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King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) with Princess Diana on the Royal Yacht Britannia at the start of their honeymoon cruise
King Charles III yesterday made a poignant return to the Royal Yacht Britannia. A ‘home from home’ for Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and their four children, the Royal Yacht Britannia held an important place in the lives of the Royal Family for more than four decades until it was decommissioned in 1997.
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Family holidays, honeymoon and precious private time – the Royal Yacht Britannia brought so much to the Windsors. ‘This was the place out of the public eye, they could relax and be themselves. On board Britannia that was their family time and it was our job to make their stay comfortable,’ one former crew member recalled yesterday.
Members of the Royal Yacht Britannia make a toast with King Charles III during a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia
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Boarding the decommissioned yacht, King Charles no doubt would have been transported back through the decades to the countless voyages he shared with his siblings, cousins and parents – and later his wife and their young sons. During the visit – part of a busy schedule of engagements for Holyrood Week – King Charles sipped rum with sailors, met former crew members and attended a reception in the State Dining Room. ‘To all the marvellous Yotties who keep it all going, you are all brilliant,’ he said, toasting the crew.
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The history of royal yachts dates back to the reign of Charles II who, when he became King of England, Scotland and Ireland on the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, was gifted a yacht called the Mary by his Dutch allies. There have been a total of 82 royal yachts since. As well as providing monarchs and their families a place in which to relax, they have also been deployed on diplomatic missions; a role that was particularly important before royals were able to jet off on planes.
Prince Charles and Princess Anne with their nanny on board the Royal yacht, Britannia at Portsmouth
Although it was Queen Elizabeth II and her family who enjoyed the use of the Britannia, the vessel had been commissioned by her father, King George VI , as a replacement for the ageing Victoria and Albert which was decommissioned in 1939 having been constructed during the reign of Queen Victoria.
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George VI, who reigned over Britain during the Second World War, took a practical approach when planning the new vessel, lest the nation should once again find itself in the throes of conflict, and ensured it could easily be turned into a hospital ship if needed. Sadly, the King died before construction was completed and it was his daughter and son-in-law who had the final say on its design.
The Queen and Prince Philip waving on board Royal Yacht Britannia during an official visit to Kuwait
The state room on the Royal Yacht Britannia
The Britannia set sail on her maiden voyage from Portsmouth to the Grand Harbour in Malta on 14 April 1952, carrying Princess Anne and her brother Prince Charles , who reunited with the then Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the end of their Commonwealth tour. The late Queen first boarded the yacht at Tobruk in the country then known as the Kingdom of Libya in May 1954, and she famously became the first British monarch to visit Chicago in 1959 when the yacht docked in the city.
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It became integral to royal life. As a young boy, Prince Charles is said to have stolen pastries from the kitchen of the yacht, and was captured on film playing on the decks and swooping down a makeshift slide. Sir Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela were among those who dined in the opulent State Dining Room, while Prince Charles and Princess Diana honeymooned on board. It was also the location of fun-filled family holidays, with private home videos and photos shared from the royal archives over the years revealing how the late Queen relaxed on deck as the family whizzed down waterslides.
Season 5 of The Crown featured the Britannia towards the end of her seaworthy days. The series depicts Queen Elizabeth II (played by Imelda Staunton) tries to strong-arm Prime Minister Sir John Major (Johnny Lee Miller) into footing the bill for a sizeable refurbishment, telling him: ‘From the design of the hull to the smallest piece of china, she is a floating, seagoing expression of me.’ The Duke of Edinburgh (Jonathan Pryce) also does his best to compel Sir John to take action.
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Ultimately, however, it was decided (as in real life) that the ‘costs were too great’ and, in 1994, it was announced the Britannia would be decommissioned. Three years later, the vessel that had given the late Queen so many happy memories embarked on its final voyage – a farewell tour around the UK. On the day of decommissioning, the enormity of the occasion was clear for the world to see, for Her late Majesty was photographed wiping away a tear during the ceremony; a rare public display of emotion for the stoic sovereign.
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The Queen wiping a tear from her eye at the de-commissioning ceremony for The Royal Yacht Britannia
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What Happened to the Royal Yacht Britannia?
By Elise Taylor
The Crown season five begins and ends with the same plot point: The Royal Yacht Britannia. The vessel serves as a—fairly obvious—metaphor in the first episode, where Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth describes it as “a floating, seagoing version of me.” The problem with her metaphorical marine self? It’s in desperate need of multi-million dollar repairs.
She asks British prime minister John Major, played by Jonny Lee Miller, whether the government might be able to help foot the bill. He, in turn, asks if the royal family might front the cost, given the public pushback they both might receive if such a seemingly extravagant project was approved. In the final episode of the season (a note to the reader: spoilers will follow), Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth agree to decommission the yacht after Prince Charles’s trip to Hong Kong.
The Crown is known for taking much of its plot material from real-life events. In the case of the Royal Yacht Britannia, though—what really happened to the boat, and how much political controversy did it really cause?
To go back to the beginning, King George VI first commissioned the royal yacht that would become the Britannia in 1952. It was an exciting project, as the previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria, and was rarely used. (Queen Victoria, for one, did not like the water and never sailed.) Then, during the early 20th century, England was mostly at war, and making a massive, slow-sailing luxury ship would be a massive security risk in international waters.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, George decided, should both be an extravagant vessel and a functional one, able to double as a hospital if times of war were to arise again. In 1953, the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth christened the ship with a bottle of wine, as champagne was still seen as too extravagant post-war. In 1954, she set sail for the first time.
The Royal Yacht fulfilled many functions, most of them leisurely. Over the years, the boat hosted four royal honeymoons, including that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, as well as many family vacations. In 1969, after his investiture as the Prince of Wales, Charles hosted an intimate party on board to celebrate. (Newspapers at the time wrote that he danced with his dear friend Lucia Santa Cruz —the very person who eventually introduced him to Camilla Parker Bowles.)
It also served as a grandiose mode of transport for many royal visits. In 1959, for example, Britannia sailed to Chicago to celebrate the recently-opened St. Lawrence seaway in Canada, and President Eisenhower joined her on board. Twenty years later, she sailed to Abu Dhabi for her first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, where she held a grand dinner for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
And although Queen Elizabeth's reign was not during wartime, the royal yacht did execute a humanitarian mission, as King George VI had always planned for: In 1986, it sailed to Aden to evacuate over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Yemen.
The New York Times once described the 412-foot Britannia as “an ordinary yacht what Buckingham Palace is to the house next door.” It wasn’t an exaggeration—Britannia was essentially a floating palace. It had a drawing room, a dining room, two sitting rooms, as well as galleys and cabins for all the officers. The stateroom interiors were just as ornate as any other royal estate, while the bedrooms—which all had their own bathrooms and dressing rooms—were designed to feel surprisingly personal.
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“Within the royal apartments, however, the regal elegance gives way to the homey, patched elbow chic of an English country house, with flowered chintz slipcovers, family photographs, and rattan settees, interspersed with the occasional relic of Empire—shark's teeth from the Solomon Islands here, a golden urn commemorating Nelson's victory at Trafalgar there,” the New York Times found when it boarded the ship in 1976.
The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost 5.8 million pounds, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.
However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain's 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried—one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.
Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project—showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.
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I visited the Royal Yacht Britannia, the royal family's luxurious private cruise ship known as a 'floating palace.' Take a look inside.
- The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.
- The ship is now a museum open to the public in Edinburgh, Scotland.
- The tour shows the Queen's bedroom, state rooms used for entertaining, and crew bunks.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.
With its many royal family vacations and official tours, the yacht logged over 1 million miles , the equivalent of one trip around the world for each of its 44 years at sea.
The Queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax."
The Labour government decommissioned the ship in 1997 due to its high operation cost of £11 million each year, Reuters reported . That's equivalent to about $23 million today.
At the decommissioning ceremony, the Queen shed a rare public tear .
The ship has made several appearances in Netflix's "The Crown," including season five .
The yacht is now a museum open to the public in Edinburgh, Scotland.
On a recent trip to Scotland , I booked a ticket for the Royal Yacht Britannia museum, which costs £18.50 ($23) for adults.
The entrance is located inside the Ocean Terminal shopping center in Edinburgh.
Before boarding the yacht, visitors walk through a museum detailing the boat's history and connection to the royal family.
The five-story ship was a royal residence as well as a Royal Navy ship, with a full-time staff of more than 240 royal yachtsmen and officers.
The museum displays photos of the royal family's life aboard the ship, as well as items like crew uniforms.
Then, a walkway with more photos leads to the deck of the boat.
The ship is docked on the water just outside the shopping center.
I listened to the audio tour of the ship on my phone by scanning a QR code.
There were also separate listening devices available.
Each room of the ship had a number that you could type in and press "play" to hear about your surroundings in an array of languages.
The first stop was the bridge, the main control point of the yacht.
In this small space, officers navigated the seas and recorded data in the ship's logbooks.
Outside, the flag deck is the highest point on the ship.
Britannia had three masts, and different flags were used to communicate with other ships on the water.
The admiral's cabin and suite is the most spacious on the ship, aside from the royal apartments.
The admiral's accommodations featured a day room, bedroom, bathroom, and pantry. The sofa and armchairs in the dayroom are over 100 years old and came from the previous royal yacht, Victoria and Albert III.
The royal family often sunbathed, played deck hockey, or swam in a collapsible swimming pool on the Veranda Deck.
Part of the yacht's royal quarters, the deck was also used for receptions and group photos.
Prince Philip occasionally set up his easel on the deck to paint.
Overlooking the Veranda Deck, the Sun Lounge was one of the Queen's favorite rooms on the ship.
Queen Elizabeth would often take her breakfast and afternoon tea in the Sun Lounge.
The Queen's bedroom on the Royal Yacht Britannia featured bed linens that once belonged to Queen Victoria.
The embroidered silk panel above the Queen's bed, commissioned in 1953, cost £450 ($560, or $6,250 in today's money).
Her sheets were embossed with "HM The Queen."
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had separate bedrooms connected by an adjoining door.
Each room had its own bathroom.
Philip's bedroom featured red linens, and he requested pillowcases without lace trim.
A button next to each of their beds would summon a royal steward.
Across the hall, the Honeymoon Suite was the only room onboard with a double bed.
The double bed was requested by then-Prince Charles when he honeymooned with Princess Diana in 1981.
The room was also used as a nursery when the royal children were young.
The Anteroom served as a recreational space for the officers, off-limits to the rest of the crew.
Officers would spend their time here listening to the radio and playing board games.
The royal family occasionally dined in the adjoining Wardroom.
Britannia's 19 officers ate meals here, accompanied by the Royal Marines Band.
Britannia has three galleys, which are still working kitchens today.
The galleys prepare food for the Royal Deck Tea Room and events hosted on the ship.
The Royal Deck Tea Room offers an extensive menu of soups, sandwiches, scones, and other treats for visitors to the museum.
The royal family once used the space to entertain guests and play deck games.
The state dining room is the largest room on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, and many other world leaders dined here with the royal family.
The placement of each utensil was measured with a ruler.
Just off the state dining room, the Queen's sitting room served as her office.
Here, the Queen would meet with her press secretaries and prepare for royal visits.
On the opposite side of the hall, the Duke of Edinburgh had his own sitting room.
Both Philip and Charles used the room as a study. Philip kept a model of his first naval command, the HMS Magpie, above his desk.
The telephones connecting the sitting rooms to each other and their private secretaries' offices are identical to the phones used in Buckingham Palace.
The large Drawing Room and connecting Anteroom could accommodate up to 250 guests.
The Drawing Room featured an electric fireplace and cozy floral furniture. When it wasn't being used as a reception space during formal events, the royal family used it to relax and play games on the card tables.
Petty officers and Royal Marine sergeants kicked back in their living quarters, also known as the mess.
Petty officers would occasionally entertain the Queen and other royal family members here.
The crew bunks weren't as glamorous as the royal apartments.
Each bunk folded up into a seat, and crew members stored their possessions in lockers.
Britannia's NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) shop sold souvenirs and sweets, as well as essentials like toothpaste.
Diana once bought Prince William a Britannia souvenir shirt from the shop. Today, it sells homemade fudge to museum guests.
The ship's sick bay and operating theater still feature the original furnishings from the 1950s.
The ship's doctor attended to crew members, while the Queen's royal surgeon traveled with her on voyages.
Britannia's laundry room could reach temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit as it washed up to 600 shirts in one day.
The royal family's laundry was done on different days than the crew's laundry.
All of the clocks onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia are stopped at 3:01 p.m.
The clocks are frozen at the time the Queen stepped off the ship for the last time during its decommissioning ceremony in December 1997.
The tour concludes in a gift shop full of royal souvenirs.
Amid the Britannia-themed mugs, pens, and aprons, the gift shop also sold replicas of royal jewelry.
There's even a photo-op at the end of the tour where you can practice your royal wave.
The tour was full of surprising facts about royal life and travels, and I couldn't believe that we actually got to see inside Queen Elizabeth's bedroom on the ship. It's definitely worth a visit.
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What Happened To The Royal Yacht Britannia?
By Elise Taylor
The Crown season five begins and ends with the same plot point: The Royal Yacht Britannia. The vessel serves as a – fairly obvious – metaphor in the first episode, where Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth describes it as “a floating, seagoing version of me.” The problem with her metaphorical marine self? It’s in desperate need of multi-million pound repairs.
She asks British prime minister John Major, played by Jonny Lee Miller, whether the government might be able to help foot the bill. He, in turn, asks if the royal family might front the cost, given the public pushback they both might receive if such a seemingly extravagant project was approved. In the final episode of the season (a note to the reader: spoilers will follow), Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth agree to decommission the yacht after Prince Charles’s trip to Hong Kong.
The Crown is known for taking much of its plot material from real-life events. In the case of the Royal Yacht Britannia, though – what really happened to the boat, and how much political controversy did it really cause?
To go back to the beginning, King George VI first commissioned the royal yacht that would become the Britannia in 1952. It was an exciting project, as the previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria, and was rarely used. Then, during the early 20th century, England was mostly at war, and making a massive, slow-sailing luxury ship would be a massive security risk in international waters.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, George decided, should both be an extravagant vessel and a functional one, able to double as a hospital if times of war were to arise again. In 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth christened the ship with a bottle of wine, as champagne was still seen as too extravagant post-war. In 1954, she set sail for the first time.
The Royal Yacht fulfilled many functions, most of them leisurely. Over the years, the boat hosted four royal honeymoons, including that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, as well as many family vacations. In 1969, after his investiture as the Prince of Wales, Charles hosted an intimate party on board to celebrate. (Newspapers at the time wrote that he danced with his dear friend Lucia Santa Cruz – the very person who eventually introduced him to Camilla Parker Bowles.)
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It also served as a grandiose mode of transport for many royal visits. In 1959, for example, Britannia sailed to Chicago to celebrate the recently opened St Lawrence seaway in Canada, and President Eisenhower joined her on board. Twenty years later, she sailed to Abu Dhabi for her first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, where she held a grand dinner for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
And although Queen Elizabeth's reign was not during wartime, the royal yacht did execute a humanitarian mission, as King George VI had always planned for: In 1986, it sailed to Aden to evacuate over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Yemen.
The New York Times once described the 412-foot Britannia as “an ordinary yacht what Buckingham Palace is to the house next door.” It wasn’t an exaggeration – Britannia was essentially a floating palace. It had a drawing room, a dining room, two sitting rooms, as well as galleys and cabins for all the officers. The stateroom interiors were just as ornate as any other royal estate, while the bedrooms – which all had their own bathrooms and dressing rooms – were designed to feel surprisingly personal.
“Within the royal apartments, however, the regal elegance gives way to the homey, patched elbow chic of an English country house, with flowered chintz slipcovers, family photographs, and rattan settees, interspersed with the occasional relic of Empire – shark’s teeth from the Solomon Islands here, a golden urn commemorating Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar there,” the New York Times found when it boarded the ship in 1976.
The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost £5.8 million, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.
However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain’s 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried – one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.
Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project – showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.
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The Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ
Tel: 0131 555 5566 Email us: [email protected]
Britannia will be closed 11-23 March and 25-28 June due to the redevelopment of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre
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Step aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia
Explore each of the five decks of The Royal Yacht Britannia, Best UK Attraction (Tripadvisor) and discover what life was like during Royal service on board Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace. A great day out for all the family at this top attraction in Edinburgh.
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11 - 23 march and 25 - 28 june.
Britannia will be closed 11 - 23 March and 25 - 28 June due to the redevelopment of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.
Ticket information, opening times and more.
Buy Tickets
Pre-book your tickets to visit The Royal Yacht Britannia, top attraction in Leith.
Homemade soups, sandwiches and cakes, along with speciality teas and coffees.
Apply for 12 months' free admission after your first visit.
Stay at our luxury floating hotel, Fingal, AA Hotel of the Year Scotland.
Find souvenirs and gifts from Britannia's online Gift Shop.
Visiting Britannia
Due to upcoming construction work at Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre , Britannia will be closed 11 - 23 March and 25-28 June.
Click on the Visit page for all you need to know before you visit.
Step aboard to enjoy a great day out!
Fingal Hotel
Get away from the everyday aboard Britannia’s sister ship, Fingal. Extend your visit with a stay in one of Fingal’s luxurious cabins, your own oasis by the sea.
AA Hotel of the Year Scotland, AA five-star hotel and 2 AA Rosettes
Learn more: fingal.co.uk
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Royal Yacht Britannia – tickets, prices, discounts, afternoon tea, what to see
Royal Yacht Britannia used to be Queen Elizabeth’s Palace on Water and is now Scotland’s most popular tourist attraction.
Known by many names such as Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia, Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht , HMY Britannia, etc., this Yacht was in the Queen’s service for 44 years and sailed more than a million miles worldwide.
It is a perfect opportunity to see how the British Queen lived when traveling with other Kings and Queens, World leaders, and celebrities.
This article shares everything you must know before booking your tickets for the Royal Yacht Britannia tour.
Top Royal Yacht Britannia Tickets
# Royal Yacht Britannia tickets # Royal Edinburgh ticket
Table of contents
What to expect at yacht britannia, royal yacht britannia prices, royal edinburgh ticket, where is the royal yacht britannia, royal yacht britannia entrance, royal yacht britannia opening times, are the britannia tours timed, are the royal britannia tours guided, how long does a tour of britannia yacht take, royal britannia discounts, royal yacht britannia audio guide, royal deck tea room timings, 1. the state drawing room, 2. the verandah deck, 3. the sun lounge, 4. the state dining room, the engine room, the laundry, admiral’s cabin.
Here is a quick video on what visitors can expect inside Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia.
Your Royal Britannia tour starts from the Visitor Centre, on the second floor of Ocean Terminal, where you get the historical background about the Royal Family and Yachtsmen.
You then pick up the audio guide, which is part of the entry ticket, and board Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht and explore five fascinating decks.
Highlights on the Yacht’s Royal side are the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room, and The Queen’s Bedroom.
On the ship’s operational side, you get to see the Crew’s Quarters, the Engine Room, the laundry, etc.
More than 95% of the exhibits you will see during your tour are original and are taken on loan from The Royal Collection.
If you prefer, you can also visit the Royal Deck Tea Room.
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Royal Yacht Britannia tickets
This entry ticket gets you complete access to the Royal ship that’s now berthed in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith.
Visitors can explore all five decks at a leisurely pace even as they take in the public and private lives of the British Royal Family.
This ticket also includes the complimentary audio guide.
Adult ticket (18+ years): 18.50 pounds Child ticket (5 to 17 years): 9.25 Pounds Family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children): 50 Pounds Infant ticket (under 5 years): Free entry
This combo is known as the 48-hour Royal Edinburgh Ticket and is a real money saver.
If you are visiting Edinburgh for the first time, we highly recommend this Royal attractions combo.
This ticket gets you to access three of the best attractions in the city:
- Royal Yacht Britannia
- Edinburgh Castle
- Palace of Holyroodhouse
And to top it all, you also get unlimited travel for 48 hours on three of Edinburgh’s hop-on-hop-off bus tours.
Address: Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ, United Kingdom. Get Directions
The Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed in Leith, Edinburgh, just 2 miles from the City Centre.
Britannia’s Visitor Centre is on the second floor of Ocean Terminal, just 15 minutes’ drive from Edinburgh City Centre.
Ocean Terminal is soon going to be re-branded as Porta.
There are many ways to get to the Royal Yacht.
If you are coming by train, you must get down at Edinburgh Waverley .
From outside the station, you can take a taxi to cover the 3.7 kms (2.3 miles) to Ocean Terminal.
From the Waverly station, you can also take bus No. 22 and 34.
You must board the buses at Princess Street (Stop PN) , and after 24 minutes and 27 stops, get down at Ocean Terminal (Stop OF) .
There is a bus from the Station, every 15 minutes.
Lothian Bus services run three buses – Bus No. 11, 22, and 35 – from Edinburgh City Centre to Ocean Terminal.
You can purchase tickets on the bus by presenting the correct change or from the Lothian Buses app .
A single journey on a Lothian Bus costs 1.70 Pounds.
If you use Satnav, use the postcode EH6 6JJ.
Else, open Google Maps to get directions to Ocean Terminal .
If you prefer a taxi, we recommend Uber , Central Taxis , or City Cabs .
Car Parking
Royal Yacht Britannia offers free parking at Ocean Terminal.
Blue Car Park on Level E is closest to the tourist attraction’s Visitor Centre.
This part of the Park also has spaces for Blue Badge holders.
If you reach by foot, taxi, or bus, access to Royal Britannia is from the Ocean Terminal Shopping Center’s main entrance on the ground floor.
You must take a lift to the 2nd floor of Ocean Terminal and walk towards the building’s East end.
You will first spot Debenhams and then HMY Britannia’s Visitor Center entrance. Even though you can book tickets at the venue (the ticket desk is to the left of the visitor center entrance), it is better to buy them online , much in advance, to avoid last-minute disappointment.
During the peak months of April to October, Royal Yacht Britannia opens at 9.30 am, and the last entry is at 4.30 pm.
The rest of the year, the Royal Yacht opens at 10 am, and the last entry is allowed till 3.30 pm.
The last admission on 24 December is at 2.30 pm, and on 31 December it is at 3 pm.
Royal Yacht Britannia is closed on 25 December and 1 January.
Royal Yacht Britannia tour
The Royal Yacht Britannia tours are a perfect way to feel like a celebrity for a few hours.
In this section, we share a few things you must know before you book your tour of the Royal ship.
No, tours of HMY Britannia don’t start at a stipulated time.
When you book your tickets, you only select the ‘date.’
On the day of your visit, reach the Royal ship between their opening hours to start exploring.
Her Majesty’s Yacht doesn’t offer guided tours.
However, every ticket comes with an audio guide to walk around and tour the ship yourself.
Kids get their own version of the audio guide.
You need at least two hours to explore Royal Yacht Britannia to satisfaction.
However, if you plan to visit the Royal Deck Tea Room, you must factor in another 30 to 60 minutes.
Visits during July and August tend to take longer because of the crowd.
Kids up to four years get the maximum discounts at Britannia, Edinburgh – they get in for free.
On the adult ticket price of 17 Pounds, children aged 5 to 17 years get almost 50% discount and pay only 8.75 Pounds.
Seniors who are 60+ and students with valid educational ID cards get a 2 Pound reduction on the full ticket.
People in the Armed Forces (with valid ID) can also claim the reduced price of 8.75 Pounds.
However, this Armed Forces discount is available only at the Britannia ticket office.
Every Britannia Yacht entry ticket comes with a complimentary audio guide.
While receiving the audio guides at the Handset Desk, you can ask for straps to wear the audio guides around the neck. Headphones are also available.
Kids can opt for the children’s version of the audio guide.
The audio tour is available in 30 languages; English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Russian, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Korean, Japanese, Urdu, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Thai, Turkish, Cantonese, Punjabi, Portuguese-Brazilian, Welsh, Romanian and Gaelic.
Besides the audio guide, visitor guides are also available through the tour route to help if you have questions.
Royal Yacht Britannia afternoon tea
The Royal Deck Tea Room is on board Britannia and tables are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
It is a perfect restaurant to enjoy freshly prepared food and stunning views of the harbor.
The menu includes specialty coffees, cocktails, tasty soups, sandwiches, cakes, scones, etc. Download Menu
The Royal Deck Tea Room has 35 tables and can seat 133 people.
During the peak months of April to October, the Royal Deck Team Room opens at 11 am, and the last admission is at 3.30 pm.
January to March: Opens at 11 am, last admission at 3.30 pm
November to December: Opens at 10.30 pm, last admission at 3.45 pm
Royal Yacht Britannia interiors
Many tourists wonder what’s inside the Royal Yacht before they book their tickets.
Some out of curiosity and some to know if a visit to Royal Yacht Britannia is worth it.
We list below some of the highlights of this Palace on water.
State Apartments
The State Apartments are the collection of rooms where the Royals lived or entertained their guests.
The Royal family relaxed in the State Drawing Room whenever they traveled together.
It also acted as a reception room for up to 250 guests.
The Verandah Deck was a private space for the Royals, where they could sunbathe or enjoy quoits or deck hockey.
This area of the ship also had a collapsible swimming pool for the Royal Family to splash around if they wanted.
The Sun Lounge was one of the Queen’s favorite rooms onboard HMY Brittania.
The beautiful teak-lined room was a designated family room and offered a lot of privacy from the rest of the ship.
This massive dining room onboard Britannia has played host to the world’s most influential people, such as Nelson Mandela, Sir Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, etc.
With its white paneled walls adorned with gifts received during State visits, this room represents ultimate luxury.
The Engine Room is a testament to British marine engineering skills because, until the ship got decommissioned in 1997, everything was working fine.
This room is full of gleaming brass, chrome, and white enamel with the ‘heavy stuff’ under the hood pumping 12,000 horsepower, which would help Britannia and her four-bladed propellers to a maximum of 22.5 knots.
Eight men operated the Engine Room, Boiler Room, and associated machinery rooms.
The 240 Officers and Yachtsmen on board Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia sometimes had to change their uniforms up to six times a day.
This is why it was the only ship in the Royal Navy to have a laundry service permanently on board.
The laundry machines, dryers, and steam presses on the ship worked non-stop, and sometimes the temperature even went up to 48 degrees Celcius (118 degrees Fahrenheit)
The Admiral was responsible for Royal Yacht Britannia’s safe functioning and commanded the 19 officers and 220 Yachtsmen who operated the ship.
He worked, entertained, and often ate (he couldn’t join the other officers in their mess unless invited) in the Admiral’s Cabin. Image: Royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
The Bridge was HMY Britannia’s center of command and control on all her journeys.
From here, the officers reporting into the Admiral navigated, passed orders, recorded the logbooks, etc.
Back then, all Royal Navy ships had a Navy, Army, and Air Force Institute shop, known as the NAAFI.
The crew members and the officers would shop for their daily needs, such as toothpaste, shaving creams, magazines, etc. in this shop.
Sources # Royalyachtbritannia.co.uk # Architecturaldigest.com # Wikipedia.org # Tripadvisor.com The travel specialists at TheBetterVacation.com use only high-quality sources while researching & writing their articles. We make every attempt to keep our content current, reliable and trustworthy .
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She is a city fanatic who loves exploring different cities, understanding their culture, meeting people, and discovering hidden gems. She likes to holiday in offbeat places that mainstream tourists are yet to discover. When on holiday, she avoids crowded tourist traps. Favourite cities: Bern, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
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Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy.She was in their service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million ...
Planes, trains and the yacht Britannia: The 1959 royal visit The 45-day visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1959 stopped in all 10 Canadian provinces and two territories, plus Chicago.
The royal family has a long history of seafaring—the first official royal yacht was the HMY Mary (HMY stands for His or Her Majesty's Yacht), gifted to Charles II by the Dutch in 1660. In fact ...
7. There were more than 200 crew on board. During royal tours, Britannia was manned by 220 yachtsmen, 21 officers and three season officers and a Royal Marine band of 26 on royal tours. Up until the 1970s, the crew had a daily ration of rum and she was the last Royal Navy vessel to have the crew sleep in hammocks. 8.
The 4,000-ton yacht had a crew of 220 Royal Yachtsmen who lived on board, about 45 household staff, and occasionally a 26-member Royal Marine embarked to entertain dignitaries.
Famously described by the Queen as "the one place I can truly relax," the Royal Yacht Britannia was a home away from home for the royals from her maiden voyage in 1954 until she was ...
The Britannia's Drawing Room. The ship's wheel was taken from King Edward VII's racing yacht, also named Britannia, according to Boat International, and the 126-meter ship could reach speeds of 22.75 knots, or a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots, according to Super Yacht Times. Other fun facts: The yacht could produce her own fresh ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997. The Queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax." ... Dick Loek/Toronto Star via ...
T here's a long tradition of British royal yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II. During 44 years in royal service, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia, sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries, including the United States of ...
A good aerial view of HMY BRITANNIA in Toronto Harbour, October 1991. Skip to main content Search. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from ... (SFPU) ARCHIVE: HM ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA COLLECTION. Object associations. Associated people and organisations Royal Navy, BRITANNIA (HMY) Associated places Toronto, Ontario, Canada ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997. It's five stories tall, had more than 240 staff, and was known as the queen's "floating palace."
During every visit the paparazzi jockey to capture candid expressions and gestures or report on royal fashion and . The Royal Yacht Britannia in Toronto Harbour. Back The Royal Yacht Britannia in Toronto Harbour Reference Code: RG 65-35-7-22.3, Xs 1900-2 Archives of Ontario:
2. Britannia was the 83rd Royal Yacht. King George VI, Elizabeth II's father, had first commissioned the royal yacht that would become Britannia in 1952. The previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria and was rarely used. The tradition of royal yachts had been started by Charles II in 1660.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997. The Queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax." The ship has made several appearances in Netflix's "The Crown," including season five. ... Dick Loek/Toronto Star via Getty Images
King Charles III yesterday made a poignant return to the Royal Yacht Britannia. A 'home from home' for Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh and their four children, the Royal Yacht Britannia held an important place in the lives of the Royal Family for more than four decades until it was decommissioned in 1997.
November 15, 2022. The Queen boards the Royal Yacht Britannia. Tim Graham/Getty Images. The Crown season five begins and ends with the same plot point: The Royal Yacht Britannia. The vessel serves ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997. The luxurious cruise ship is now a public museum.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, George decided, should both be an extravagant vessel and a functional one, able to double as a hospital if times of war were to arise again. In 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth christened the ship with a bottle of wine, as champagne was still seen as too extravagant post-war. In 1954, she set sail for the first ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched on 16 April 1953. Thousands gathered at the John Brown & Co shipyard on the River Clyde to watch the launch of the ship designed to be the Queen's floating ...
When the Royal Yacht was in active service the inspection and stirring of Britannia's Christmas pudding was a time-honoured and informal tradition. Previous 4 of 20 Next 'Red Nose' certificates
Step aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia. Britannia will be closed 11 - 23 March and 25 - 28 June due to the redevelopment of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre. Explore each of the five decks of The Royal Yacht Britannia, Best UK Attraction (Tripadvisor) and discover what life was like during Royal service on board Queen Elizabeth II's former ...
Royal Yacht Britannia opening times. During the peak months of April to October, Royal Yacht Britannia opens at 9.30 am, and the last entry is at 4.30 pm. The rest of the year, the Royal Yacht opens at 10 am, and the last entry is allowed till 3.30 pm. The last admission on 24 December is at 2.30 pm, and on 31 December it is at 3 pm.