The Royal Yacht Britannia

Click on any photo for a more detailed view

The Britannia was commissioned in 1952 and made 968 voyages, traveling over a million miles, before she was decommissioned in 1997 -  that's the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe every year. So well was she built and maintained she never required a major overhaul or suffered a major system failure.

But by 1997 the British royal family had decided that the time was no longer right for the monarchy to have its own yacht. So, Britannia was moored at Leith, a short walk from Edinburgh, becoming a tourist attraction and venue for corporate events. After touring her and hearing the stories about the honeymoons, family vacations, state visits and birthday trips with the royal grandchildren, we thought it was a shame the royal family can't use it anymore. You can learn all about the Britannia by clicking here.


Here's Ron standing behind the binnacle, pretending to ring out the time of day. (The binnacle housed the magnetic compass and, no, it doesn't actually belong on the aft deck.)
We didn't get a shot of the whole ship. She is just too darn large. She's 412 feet long and 55 feet wide, displacing 4700 tons. Cruising speed is 21 knots with a range of more than 2200 miles.
Regina found this area on the aft deck particularly attractive. The royals and guest often assembled out here for tea. Behind the windows is a sunroom area, also well used by the family.
Ron thinks this might be one of the British Navy's missile frigates. It and a similar warship was docked nearby.
This is the "royal barge" used for shore excursions. Brittania had several other launches, some known, appropriately, as "jolly-boats".
The pigeon-holed case holds the signal flags that can be hoisted on the mast to communicate between ships when all else fails.

 
The dining room is now used for corporate events. Regina plans to let her boss, who's based in London, know that it can be used for meetings. The living room and parlor. This area was used for large receptions, but when the family was aboard, the royal grandchildren used the carpet as a base for playing games and putting jigsaw puzzles together. A closer view of the living room. It was hard to believe you were on a ship. The queen was instrumental in choosing the decor.

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The ship was staffed by the cream of the crop of the Royal Navy, and they were referred to as "yachtsmen".  An interesting custom: If a member of the royal family came into an area where they were working, they were expected to stand completely still until the family member dismissed them or left. 

It wasn't all work and discipline, though.  Princess Diana was a favorite visitor to the officers'  lounge.  The monkey, at left, was a gift from a foreign dignitary and was not to be touched by the crew, but he always ended up in odd places - here, hanging from an ornate salt cellar that may have belonged to the last Czar of Russia. 


Above is a stuffed toy, a wombat lodged in a ceiling fan. It was meant to be a revered mascot but was frequently put into orbit by the crew as they played a game of their own devising.... using the poor wombat as the ball..

Return to Edinburgh '06

The view Atop Calton Hill

A Visit to Inchcolm Island

Finally, A Perfect Trip

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