www.CRUISESHIPODYSSEY.com
|
|
|
|
Former Royal Yacht from 1953 untill 1997. She made Queen Elizabeth II the world's most travelled monarch. Alas, when the British Empire gradually lost all of it's overseas colonies, her role became less important. Her last offical voyage was in 1997 when Hong Kong, since 1841 a British colony, was handed back to the people of Hong Kong. After retirement from active service she she has opened as a maritime museum in Leith, Scotland. ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA
© Photograph copyright Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust She has steamed over a million miles during her long illustrious life, the equivalent of once around the globe every year. The former Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert needed to be replaced and plans were developed to build a new yacht. It was hoped that this new yacht could help to improve the the declining health of King George VI, but alas, four months before construction work on the new vessel began, the king died. His daughter Elizabeth II, inherited the throne and the plans for the new Royal Yacht when she became the new Queen.
The Drawing Room (click on picture for larger image) © Photograph copyright Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip immediately took great interest in the vessel. They personally selected the fabrics, furniture etc. used on board. To keep costs at a minimum level, items like furniture and linen were brought over from her predecessor Victoria and Albert for use on the Britannia. Architect Mr Mc Bride designed the royal appartments, but the Queen and Prince Philip were not entirely satisfied, so a second opinion was sought. Mr. Hugh Casson redesigned the royal appartments in a more simple, less fussy style of which the Royal Family approved. These were the only surroundings exactly to the taste of the Royal Couple, because they were used to living in surroundings which had been built to the taste of their predecessors.
The Dining Room (click on picture for larger image) © Photograph copyright Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust On April 16th 1953, the new yacht was launched at John Brown's shipyard and was appropriately named Britannia. It took until 1954 until Britannia was actually taken into service. She was inspected one last time if any loose ends or minor technical problems could be found. Although Britannia aroused great interest among the public, the press were not allowed to board the vessel. The complement of 220 sailors aboard Britannia were called yachtsmen. They were under strict orders to disturb the Royal Family as little as possible. Scrubbing and polishing had to be finished before 8 o'clock, before the Royal Family awoke, yachtsmen wore a special kind of shoes with soft soles and when emergency last minute orders had to be issued these were posted on special bulletin boards throughout the ship. For relaxation a small gym was housed in the funnel, and all kinds of exercise classes and games were organised on the ship and in port to keep the crew fit.
Visitors lining the decks of Britannia (click on picture for larger image) © Photograph copyright Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust When the Royal Family used Britannia for a state visit, 45 members of the royal household joined them onboard. State visits were planned as early as one and a half year in advance. The Queen's two Private Secretaries, the Press Secretary and the Master of the Household together formed the Queen's senior staff. In 1864 King Edward VII first competed in Cowes Sailing Regatta off the Isle of Wight and ever since members of the Royal Family has been present. In 1955 Britannia graced the Cowes Week for the first time and she has taken the Duke of Edinburgh there for 35 years! Britannia played host to no less than four honeymoon couples: Princess Margret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones (1961), Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips (1973), Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1981) and the Duke and Duchess of York (1986). She took them out of range of the ever present press to romantic destinations like the Caribbean.
Britannia's engine room (click on picture for larger image) © Photograph copyright Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust Many international celebrities and politicians visited the Queen onboard the Britannia: Nelson Mandela, Benazir Bhutto, Ronald Reagan and Boris Jeltsin are just a few of them. When in 1986, Britannia was en route to Australia to meet the Queen who was on a state visit there, the commanding officer of Britannia was informed that a civil war had broken out in the British colony of Aden and that the Queen had ordered the Royal Yacht to make a detour and pick up evacuees. She rescued over a thousand people in what must have been her most heroic moment. Another important milestone in the long life of Britannia was her last official voyage to Hong Kong where the British handed over the last of their overseas colonies, Hong Kong to it's original inhabitants in 1997. Hong Kong was the last foreign port the Britannia ever visited. A few months later, she was decommisioned, as her role had gradually diminished now the British colonies had all been handed back. Another reason was the Government decided a Royal Yacht was no longer needed because of the huge investment that would have been necessary to upgrade Britannia to modern naval standards. It was a sad day for the Royal family to say goodbye to their beloved ship. Several cities in the U.K. put forward proposals to save the ship, and in 1998, it was announced that Britannia would serve as a museum in the port of Leith, Scotland.
She is open to the public daily. For more information, please visit the website of the Former Royal Yacht Britannia Trust: www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk Many thanks to Ms. Lucy Quinton of the RY Britannia Trust for supplying the photographs shown above. Some interesting facts about the Royal Yacht Britannia
click on picture for larger image Bridge
Onboard garage with the royal Rolls Royce
Entrance to the Sunlounge; the Sunlounge
Outer decks
Gangway
The Royal Barge
Britannia seen from the quayside
Top deck, lifeboats
|
|
End
|
Britannia admission ticket
