Royal Yacht Britannia

One very cold and windy January morning a friend and I set out to tour the retired Royal Yacht Britannia.  The yacht was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI.  Unfortunately, he passed away just days after the commission papers reached the shipyard.  This left Queen Elizabeth at the helm to determine most of the ships needed features and decor.  The yacht was built in Scotland by John Brown and Co.  The Queen herself launched the yacht on April 16th, 1952.  During 44 years in Royal service Britannia sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, more than one million miles, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries for more than 700 royal visits.  It provided seclusion for four royal honeymoons including that of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones.  It hosted numerous state functions and trade missions.  The Queen has said that she feels most relaxed onboard the Britannia.  But on December 11, 1997 she and Princess Phillip retired the Royal Yacht Britannia and the ship came back home to Scotland where she now serves as a Heritage Attraction here in Edinburgh.

There is a small indoor museum detailing the history of the yacht.

The ship's bell and richly ornate binnacle.

Several different modes of transportation traveled with the Royal Yacht, including a 1st series Land Rover that the Queen would use for off-terrain travels in other countries, as well as her Majesties Rolls Royce.  Other boats would also accompany the Britannia.  The Royal Nore would provide services to the Royal Yacht as needed and Prince Phillip enjoyed the use of the smaller yacht.

There were lots of places to relax onboard.  The formal sitting room was used for state visits.

This was the informal sitting area where the Captain would entertain.

The Queens favorite room was the sun room.

There were also several different places to enjoy dinner.  The most elegant was the formal dining room.

This was the Captain's dinning table.

And finally the crew dinning.

The Queen's bedroom

Prince Phillip's bedroom

The Queen's office

Prince Phillip's office

The orchestra room

The crew's sleeping quarters.

The crew's bar and lounge