The Royal Yacht Britannia

Updated: Jan 24 2024

The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched on the 16th April 1953 and decommissioned on the 11th December 1997. This beautiful yacht is now permanently harbored at Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh, an easy bus ride from Edinburgh. Read below to climb aboard for a view into the life of the Royals at sea and learn some history on the way.

This steel palace and ambassador of the seas - has played a remarkable role in history. On board was one of the Queen's favorite places to be: she referred to her time there as the only time she could really relax. Out at sea, the Queen could hide for a while out of the press, camera's and world's eye. But do not be deceived this was not just a place for Royalty to rest, a lot of the time this space was put to public service, pioneering diplomacy and establishing new trade agreements. The Royal Yacht must have an impressive guest book; she hosted many people of influence including American Presidents, Nelson Mandela and Sir Winston Churchill.

When the Queen launched the Royal Yacht, the country was still reeling from the end of World War II. The economy was suffering and life was hard for many Britons. A bottle of wine was used to launch the new Yacht; champagne was seen as too expensive.

In general, the country embraced the new palace of the seas. British made, the new yacht became a symbol of past perseverance and future hopes for a better, more prosperous peaceful time. She was considered an achievement to be proud of. Keeping foreign relations strong and trade routes open seemed more important after all the losses and tragedies of the war.

The Queen was never the real owner of the Royal Yacht Britannia. The British Public were, or at least the politicians of the time. Ultimately they decided the fate of the Royal Yacht.

The Queen was known as a woman of much grace, dignity and composure but during the decommissioning ceremony of this amazing vessel she had come to love, she can be seen close to tears. In true British spirit she quickly finds her composure to greet the onlookers. The Duke of Edinburgh must equally have felt a loss. He enrolled in the Royal Navy at the age of 18 commanding his own ship. Seafaring was an important part of the royal couple's identity and history. When the Royal Britannia was decommissioned it really was the end of an era for them both.

Personally I have cried when parting with some of the cars I have owned. Reminiscing about journeys taken, the friends I took along and the independence those four wheels gave me. I imagine the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh felt all that nostalgia multifold.

Of course my cars were not luxurious. The Royal Yacht was, and as you walk around or look at photos; it is hard not to think of the expense and maintenance costs--all paid for by the British taxpayer. Ultimately, these costs and the costs of future repairs; were the reason that the Royal Yacht was taken out of service.

As you walk around the yacht you can see how sad the Queen and the Duke must have been about losing this cherished place of refuge. Her life really was a balance of public opinion and politicians as we celebrate her life now and the next generation of royals we can take heart that she stayed loyal to her promise at the age of twenty one. There was never any public grumbling or protest about her role which included losing the Royal Yacht. Her life was service, not self indulgence or pity for lost freedoms.

A yacht for the Royal Family, was not without precedence. The Royals have a long history of cruising the waves —the first official Royal Yacht was the HMY Mary (HMY stands for His or Her Majesty's Yacht), was gifted to Charles II by the Dutch in 1660. Over the centuries the monarchy has owned 83 Royal Yachts; the Royal Britannia being the last. (1)

With the background of the current war in Ukraine, it is hard not to contrast the role played by the Royal Yacht to the Russian oligarch's yachts harbored all around the world. The Russian oligarch's yacht's opulence is purely for personal indulgence and they were bought with money made by bad endeavors . The Royal Britannia was a working vessel - she had purpose and meaning far beyond indulging the royal family. Her duties included spreading diplomacy, bringing trade and goodwill to the UK. She helped money flow into the British economy rather than into one person's pocket.

During her career as Royal Yacht, Britannia safely transported the Queen, other members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on 696 foreign visits and 272 visits in British waters. She steamed 1,087,623 nautical miles (2,014,278 km). The equivalent of once around the world for each of her years, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries.( 2) It was estimated by the Overseas Trade Board that events held on board the yacht helped raise £3 billion for HM Treasury solely between 1991 and 1995. (3) Her final foreign mission was to deliver the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, and the Prince of Wales from Hong Kong back to the UK after Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. A symbolic end to her career.

Envisioned less than a decade after the end of World War II the Royal Yacht's designers sought to make the space as functional as possible, including crafting a space that could be converted from an ocean-going royal residence to a seafaring hospital during wartime.

Above: photos of the hospital ward - no surgeries were ever performed here but the ward was kept well stocked just in case. The Yacht had two doctors on board one for the crew and the Royal Physician.

The main veranda was laid out and re-enforced so that it could support a helicopter landing.

The laundry room was made much larger than on a standard naval vessel to accommodate the extra potential patients.

The laundry room operated 24-hours a day. It serviced not only the royal family and their guests laundry but the 260 person crew. On board, yachtsmen and officers would change outfits up to six times per day. They paid a small fee to have their clothes laundered. (4)

Though the laundry room was ultimately only ever used for laundry and the surgery was never used during war, in January 1986, the yacht was put into service on a rescue mission to help evacuate European nationals from South Yemen after a sudden outbreak of civil war. (4) The Britannia evacuated about 350 people of 42 nationalities and took them to Djibouti, about 160 miles across the Gulf of Aden from South Yemen’s capital, and then returned. The Britannia was in the Red Sea heading for New Zealand for the queen’s February visit when the war began in South Yemen, and Buckingham Palace said the queen was ″delighted″ it could be used to help. (5) Noteworthy, is that this was one of the rare occasions when the Soviet Union and the UK were in agreement and worked together (6)

Understanding the past gives an interesting spin on this moment when we are at a pivotal point for the royal family with the commissioning of a new King. In the UK we are still reeling on the sadness of Queen Elizabeth II's death, which seemed so sudden even though she was 96 years old. We need time to marvel at her legacy and dedication to service but we also need to be aware of the undeniable wrong-doings of the Empire's colonial rule - some of which was during the lifetime of the Royal Yacht.

Looking back at history of this seafaring iron lady and balancing the good and bad may offer us a way forward allowing us to envision how the royal family can remain an important part of our society and identity.

All Aboard - let us take a further look inside.

The Bridge and Wheel House : This is where the Captain would be. The Captain was usually a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy although the first two were Vice Admirals and the last was a Commodore. All the equipment in the Bridge is original. The steering wheel was actually one flight down from this room in the wheel house and navigational instructions had to be called down from this room to below.

As the Royal Yacht chartered many international waters it had to be up to date on all protocols and rules of the seas. Below are the signal flags of international waters neatly organized and folded ready for use.

The Engine Room

The engines generated 12,000 horsepower with a maximum speed of 22.5 knots, the Queen was known to bring her guests down to see the Engine Room after dinner and the equipment was kept exceptionally clean. Eight men were stationed here 24 hours a day operating the Engine Room and Boiler Room. (7) The engine room remained the same since the 1950's.

When the Britannia was originally designed, it was not guaranteed that its final destination would have cars available to transport the Queen. So a garage was essential. Tucked into the side of the deck a Landrover and Rolls Royce were stored ready to be winched onto the dock to safely transport the Queen onward.

The gold and white binnacle housed on the ship's veranda deck was originally part of the HMY Royal George, a royal yacht that served Queen Victoria. The Royal George was launched in 1817, and last used in 1842. Which makes this binnacle 205 years old. The bell was made especially for the Royal Yacht and is the only place on board where the full name of the Yacht is written.

The Royal Bedrooms - The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had two separate sleeping areas on opposite sides of the yacht. The bed linen on the queen's bed were originally made for Queen Victoria on her yacht (no pressure laundering those - 😬)

The portholes and windows leading to the royal sleeping quarters where set high above eye view from the deck so there was no way to accidentally see a royal in their private rooms while passing by on deck.

The first double bed was introduced by Prince Charles when he traveled on his honeymoon with Princess Diana. This remained the only double bed and was named the Honeymoon suite. It was used by four royal couples; Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Unfortunately, each of these marriages ended in divorce. (8)

The State Rooms

The state rooms are the most regal areas on board and where her Majesty and his Majesty would receive guests. The rooms consist of sitting rooms, a grand dining-room and a drawing room, with the possibility of opening all areas into one large reception space. The outside deck area by the binnacle and bell were also used on occasion for receptions if the weather held.

To enter the state rooms the Royals would walk down this wonderful staircase from their private rooms to greet their guests. The staircase is worthy of a palace and often the location for formal photographs.

The most impressive state room is undoubtedly the formal dining room which could seat up to 56 guests. The room certainly has a wow factor, as we toured the Yacht we could hear the wows of the other tourists as we turned the corner.

The precision and etiquette followed for the placement of the place settings alone was a task which took hours to perform.

Silverware and porcelain were stored in special areas of the yacht and kept polished and ready at all times. Below are the storage areas for silver, porcelain and the dish washing area.

The photos below show the formal reception area or sitting room. This was where the Queen would meet and mingle with guests before a meal, but it was also a favorite of the whole royal family. The Queen loved to play board games with her grandchildren here, the area does have a lovely family feel to it.

The royal band was part of the crew that could be called to entertain the officers or the royal family. This photo is of the officer's mess area where they would relax at night but the same officers were used to entertain the Queen's guests.

The state rooms can now be hired out to the public and were last used in a royal capacity on July 29th 2011 for pre-wedding reception for Zara Phillips (Princess Anne's daughter) and Mike Tindall, an England rugby star. (9)

The Queen's favorite place was her drawing room, a sunny room with a view onto the deck. Secret areas hide a bar and record player stowed behind a nautical picture.

Official working areas

Both the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had offices on the Yacht. They both had work to complete.

The Duke's Office. Both the Duke's and Queen's office had phones to connect them to their secretaries and each other. The Duke's office had a replica of the HMS Magpie a ship he once commanded.

The Queen's office area is located opposite the Duke's.

The Duke of Edinburgh's office

The Queen's office

The video below is a tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, his royal refuge and why it was important to him.

The Lower Decks

On the main deck were the household and guest staterooms, while royal staff were accommodated on the lower deck. (6)

The photos below are of the officer's areas : A Sitting area, bar and dining area.

The photos below are of the senior enlisted area.

The enlisted sailors shared closer quarters but still had access to a bar/mess area and were allowed two beers a day. Until 1973 the crews slept in Hammocks

The crew had a mail room and a store, the NAAFI, which now houses the fudge shop. Many of the crew served for multiple years, asking to return.

Symbolically all the clocks on the Royal Yacht are set to the same time - the last time the Queen was aboard. Precisely 3.01pm. I don't suppose they will ever be reset now.

As you disembark you can view the smaller boat - the one used to take the royal family to land when the Royal Yacht was too large to dock and the Rolls Royce which at one time traveled aboard.

From below you can get a good perspective of the length and elegance of this Royal Yacht. Britannia made a great Yacht and makes a great museum.

This final video shows the Royal Yacht reaching her final resting place. The Royal Yacht Britannia reached Ocean Terminal, Leith, Edinburgh Scotland and docked for the last time. The Queen spent her final hours in Balmoral Scotland another of her favorite places. Just as the Britannia gracefully steamed into Leith, the Queen gracefully passed away having performed her official duty two days before, appointing the new UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss.