Royal Yacht Britannia
It was an Ideal Way to Relax for Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana
Queen Elizabeth, and other members of the royal family would often leave the formality of Buckingham Palace for the relaxed atmosphere of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Like that of two of the great ocean-going passenger liners, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II, the Royal Yacht Britannia’s life began on the River Clyde in Glasgow in 1953.
Britannia, the latest in a long line of royal yachts that stretched back to the seventeenth century was also designed to act as a hospital ship in times of conflict although it was never used in this capacity.
However, in 1986, during a voyage to Australia without the Queen aboard, the ship diverted to Aden to help in the evacuation of those trapped on the beaches by an on-going war in the region.
Both the Queen and Prince Philip took a keen interest in the design of the vessel working with Sir Hugh Casson on plans for the interior decorations. which included some of the fabrics and furniture taken from a previous royal yacht the Victoria and Albert.
The state apartments aft of the funnel were decorated in an English country house style with chintz-covered armchairs on a plain silver-grey carpet topped in the Drawing Room with a magnificent Persian rug.
A baby grand piano stood in the corner, famously played by Sir Noel Coward, a guest of her majesty, into the wee small hours. Princesses Diana, Margaret and Alexandria all enjoyed playing too.
‘Supper’ in the state dining room could be a splendid occasion and over the years a number of the world’s most powerful people sat down to eat with the royal family. They included: Rajiv Ghandi, Sir Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher to name but a few.
A young Princess Diana who was happiest when proceedings were kept informal was a very special guest as far as the naval crew were concerned. On one memorable occasion she was found in the Junior Ratings Mess leading the crew or yachtsmen as they were called in a rendition of What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor.
During its long life, Britannia sailed over one million miles calling at 600 ports in 135 countries, using the same gleaming engines, a testament to the skill of the engineers (including this writer’s father) who built them.
Its final engagement was on a summer evening in 1997 when Prince Charles and Hong Kong’s last Governor Chris Patten sailed quietly into the South China Sea after handing the island to its new Chinese masters.
Britannia was finally decommissioned in Portsmouth on 11 December 1997. It is now back in Scotland moored at the Edinburgh Port of Leith and open to the public.
