royal yacht britannia refit 1991

'The Crown': Did the Queen Really Demand That the Public Pay for the Britannia Yacht Refurb?

In season five of the Netflix drama, the Queen asks Prime Minister John Major to intervene. This is what actually happened

In episode one, series five of The Crown , a GP asks a “rather personal” question of the Queen (Imelda Staunton): is Balmoral her favourite residence? She demurs to answer, and instead the scene cuts to a majestic yacht, the HMY Royal Britannia, sailing somewhere in the Irish sea, presumably up to Scotland.

Five-star service? Try 10-star service on board this boujie boat: silver service suppers by candlelight; landscape painting sessions on the portside deck, a waiting staff of hundreds. Well, who wouldn’t love it? Try the British public, when, in the middle of a global recession, they were expected to shoulder a not-so-slight refurb costing £14.745 million (according to papers held by The Crown ’s Prince Phillip, Jonathan Pryce).

But while the Queen is seen asking – nay, telling – the then-PM John Major (Jonny Lee Miller) that her royal subjects will foot the bill in Peter Morgan's series, how much of this is true, and what happened to the luxury yacht in the end?

Royal Yacht Club

King Charles II first kicked off the idea that a personal boat was essential to the ruling monarch in 1660, and by the time the tradition was passed on to HRH Elizabeth II in 1953, it had evolved into the most luxury of ships.

The Queen launched the yacht in 1953, a 126-metre beast that could accommodate up to 250 guests, manned by 21 officers from the Royal Navy and 250 Royal Yachtsmen. The maiden voyage in 1954 took Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta to meet their parents, and over the years the boat entertained everyone from presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to Nelson Mandela. Interestingly, the boat also doubled as a nuclear shelter for the Royals, who would have taken shelter in it off the coast of north-west Scotland, in case of an emergency.

While the yacht was mainly used for maritime jollies – Charles and Diana honeymooned on it in 1981, while the rest of the royal family used it for their annual fortnight jaunt to the west coast of Scotland, also known as their Western Isles Tour – it was also utilised to evacuate 1,000 people from Aden, Yemen, during a civil war in 1986.

However, in 1994, the Conservative government, then headed up by John Major, announced that the yacht would be lowering its anchor for the last time, due to the exorbitant running costs. Viscount Cranborne, House of Lords, said at the time: “The yacht last underwent a major refit in 1987. A further refit at an estimated cost of some £17 million would be necessary in 1996–97 but would only prolong her life for a further five years. In view of her age, even after the refit she would be difficult to maintain and expensive to run. It has therefore been decided to decommission "Britannia" in 1997.”

However, by 1997, and with a general election looming, the idea of royal yacht became a contentious issue, and the Tories declared they would recommission the yacht if they were re-elected. According to The Guardian at the time, the Queen was “furious” that the royal family was “dragged into the centre of the election campaign, just as it is fighting to restore its public image.”

“At the same time I hope it is clear to all concerned that this reticence on the part of the palace now way implies that Her Majesty is not deeply interested in the subject; on the contrary, the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st Century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”

Speaking to the Daily Express , Professor Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, said of his letter discovery: “It is clear that behind the scenes the palace, which had been closely informed of the progress of discussions, was keen to keep the issue alive and was putting discreet pressure on Whitehall to come up with some alternative proposals.”

While The Crown goes a step further and shows the Queen putting her foot down to demand that John Major’s party – and the public – should pay for the refurb and to keep the boat on high seas, it’s highly unlikely this meeting ever took place. In 2003, the Sunday Telegraph quoted a source that claimed the monarch would have never put pressure on the government over a politically sensitive subject: “Neither the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh have ever expressed an opinion on the way the issue was handled and nor would they do so.”

Britannia was eventually decommissioned in 1997, after Tony Blair and Labour were voted into power, ​​and its final trip was to convey the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, and the Prince of Wales back from Hong Kong after its handover to the People's Republic of China. The Queen was later captured shedding a tear when it moored up in Portsmouth. The yacht is now a permanent visitor attraction in Port Leith, Edinburgh, and gets up to 300,000 shipmates a year.

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What really happened to Royal Yacht Britannia from ‘The Crown’ Season 5?

LONDON — The much-hyped fifth season of “The Crown” opens with a heavy-handed metaphor weighing approximately 4,000 tons.

It’s 1953, and a young Queen Elizabeth II, a month before her coronation, is in Scotland to launch the new royal yacht, the Britannia. “I hope this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant, capable of weathering any storm,” she declares to great applause.

And so the queen and her ship are inextricably linked as the Netflix TV show fast-forwards to 1991, when questions about costly repairs for the Britannia are presented in parallel to questions about whether the 65-year-old queen is too old for her role.

King Charles III wants to look ahead. ‘The Crown’ drags him back.

There is no missing that this is a narrative device in a series now labeled a “fictional dramatization.” But the episode’s release this week has renewed interest in the history of the royal yacht and ignited a debate about how the British monarch interacted with her government. It also happened to coincide with a modern-day echo of 1991, as new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, facing a recession, sank plans for a replacement royal yacht.

What to know about Britannia, ‘the floating palace’

There is a real Royal Yacht Britannia, and, as in the show, the young queen really did announce its name and christen it with a bottle of Empire wine. (Though not with a self-referential speech.)

The Britannia was the latest in a series of royal yachts dating back to 1660 and King Charles II . In 44 years of service, the ship sailed more than 1 million nautical miles — equivalent to more than 40 circumnavigations of Earth — calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries and projecting British influence around the world.

The Britannia was used for state visits and receptions, royal family holidays and honeymoons. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton all spent time on board, as did Boris Yeltsin and Nelson Mandela. When civil war broke out in South Yemen in 1986, the yacht was rerouted to help evacuate civilians.

“The Crown” suggests the yacht was the queen’s favorite “home,” cherished even more than Balmoral in the Scottish highlands. Biographers don’t dispute that this could have been true. In his book “Queen of Our Times,” Robert Hardman writes, “There were few places where the Queen would be happier.”

Although served by a crew of 220, the ship was a place where the royal family could relax and escape the watchful eye of the public. Hugh Casson, who designed the interior, once recounted, “the overall idea was to give the impression of a country house at sea.” Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, was fascinated with the birds he saw during voyages in the 1950s and even published a book titled “Birds from Britannia.”

Did the queen lobby for repairs?

The controversial part of “The Crown” portrayal centers on whether the queen actively lobbied Prime Minister John Major for the government to pay for extensive repairs — which could have amounted to inappropriate interference in politics by a constitutional monarch.

She says in the show: “Here I am, coming to you, prime minister, on bended knee, for the sign-off, but I’m hoping that will be a formality.”

The character of Major, who was prime minister during a tough recession, responds by suggesting the royal yacht is “something of a luxury” and that spending public money on it while the economy is in the tank would not be good for the government or the royal family.

The queen persists, arguing that the yacht is “a central and indispensable part of the way the crown serves the nation” and “a floating, seagoing expression of me.”

The queen-ship metaphor is dragged out in a later conversation, when the character of Prince Charles — impatient to be king — tells Major about the Britannia: “Sometimes these old things are too costly to keep repairing.”

So did any of that actually take place?

The real-life Major has called the show’s imagined conversations “a barrel-load of nonsense.”

Robert Lacey, a historical consultant on “The Crown,” defended the depiction. He told The Washington Post that the subject of the yacht would have inevitably come up between the queen and the prime minister, who met once a week to discuss matters of state.

“She certainly spoke about it to the prime minister,” Lacey said. “Obviously, the royal family would have lobbied for it. The queen did want another royal yacht.”

Hardman, the royal biographer, insisted that while the queen no doubt would have been interested in repairs or a replacement, she would not have “leaned on her prime ministers for money.”

In a letter written in 1994, later stored in the National Archives, the queen’s deputy private secretary Kenneth Scott wrote to the cabinet office that “the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”

Scott noted, however, that “the question of whether there should be a replacement yacht is very much one for the government” and “the last thing I should like to see is a newspaper headline saying ‘Queen Demands New Yacht.’”

The Times of London headline when the letter was uncovered in 2018: “ I want a new yacht, Queen told Whitehall in secret letter .”

What happened to the Britannia?

Major’s government wasn’t swayed by arguments to repair or renew the ship. Even with a retrofit costing an estimated 17 million pounds, the Britannia would be expensive to run and hard to maintain. It was hard to justify when air travel was a readily available alternative for royal trips and trade missions.

The yacht’s final voyage abroad was to Hong Kong in 1997, when the territory was handed back to China. A few months later, the Britannia undertook a farewell tour of Britain, calling at six major ports and blasting its sirens as it passed the shipyard that built it, before returning for a decommissioning ceremony in Portsmouth, England on Dec. 11, 1997. The ship’s clocks were stopped. The Royal Marines band played. Lacey noted: “The only time the queen was seen to cry was when the royal yacht was de-commissioned.”

The ship is now a visitor attraction site in Edinburgh, Scotland. On the day of the queen’s state funeral in September, a lone piper played a lament on the deck.

What about plans for a replacement royal yacht?

The possibility of a replacement yacht gained some traction during the 1997 general election, but the incoming Labour government nixed the idea.

More than two decades later, as part of a campaign to promote a reinvigorated “Global Britain” in the aftermath of Brexit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed a new royal yacht . There was a push to name the ship after Prince Philip, who died last year, though it would be more for the government than for the royal family. In Johnson’s vision, the ship would tour the world as a “floating embassy,” where officials would host summits and cement trade deals. It would cost an estimated 250 million pounds to build, plus 30 million pounds a year to run.

But once again, the economic climate is not favorable for big yacht projects. The new Sunak administration announced this week that it was terminating the royal yacht plan and would instead procure a surveillance ship that could protect energy cables and other infrastructure. The prime minister’s spokesman said it was “right to prioritize at a time when difficult spending decisions need to be made.”

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Britannia was the first Royal Yacht to be built with complete ocean-going capacity and designed as a Royal residence to entertain guests around the world. When she was decommissioned in 1997, it marked the end of a long tradition of British Royal Yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II.

There is additional information about Britannia's specifications and construction contained in the technical paper .

VICTORIA & ALBERT III

Britannia's predecessor was the Victoria & Albert III - the first Royal Yacht not to be powered by sail. It was built for Queen Victoria, but she never stepped on board, concerned about the yacht's stability. King Edward VII did sail on the Victoria & Albert, mainly in local waters and the Mediterranean. Having served four sovereigns over 38 years and not left Northern Europe since 1911, the Victoria & Albert was decommissioned in 1939. She was eventually broken up for scrap at Faslane in 1954

THE LAST ROYAL YACHT

It was decided that a new Royal Yacht should be commissioned that could travel the globe and double as a hospital ship in time of war. It was also hoped a convalescence cruise would help the King's ailing health. The John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank received the order from the Admiralty for a new ship on 4 February, 1952. Sadly King George VI passed away two days later. Not only did Queen Elizabeth II now have to prepare for her new role, but she also had responsibility for the commissioning of the new Royal Yacht.

BUILT IN SCOTLAND

John Brown & Co was one of the most famous shipyards in the world, having built the famous liners Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. The keel of the new, as yet unnamed, Royal Yacht was laid down in June 1952. One of the last fully-riveted ships to be built with a remarkably smooth painted hull, she was finally ready to be launched on 16 April, 1953. The ship's name was a closely guarded secret, only being revealed when Queen Elizabeth II smashed a bottle of Empire wine (Champagne was considered too extravagant in post-war Britain) and announced to the expectant crowds "I name this ship Britannia… I wish success to her and all who sail in her". You can read more about getting Britannia ready for Royal service by downloading Letters from a Fish to his Admiral (below), a series of notes and letters written by Acting Captain J S Dalglish, the Officer in charge of commissioning Britannia. John Brown continued as a shipyard until they sadly closed in 2001.

BRITANNIA COMMISSIONED

After the launch, Britannia's building work continued as her funnel and masts were installed, before beginning sea trials on 3 November 1953 off the West Coast of Scotland. On successful completion, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 11 January 1954. On 22 April, Britannia sailed into her first overseas port as she entered Grand Harbour, Malta. During 44 years in Royal service Britannia sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries, including the United States of America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

ROYAL HONEYMOONS

Britannia was an ideal Royal honeymoon venue. The Royal Yacht was very private and could sail to secluded locations. Four Royal honeymoons were enjoyed on board, Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones being the first in 1960.

THE FIRST DAY AT SEA

As well as hosting state functions, Britannia was an ambassador for British business, promoting trade and industry around the globe. These British overseas trade missions were known as ‘Sea Days’ and an invitation to come aboard proved irresistible to the world’s leading business and political figures. The Overseas Trade Board estimated that £3 billion was made for the Exchequer as a result of commercial days on Britannia between 1991 and 1995 alone.

EVACUATION OF ADEN, SOUTH YEMEN

At 20:00 on 17 January 1986, the Yacht dropped anchor at Khormaksar Beach. Civil war had broken out in South Yemen and ships were urgently required to evacuate British nationals and others trapped by fighting. As a non-combatant Royal Navy ship, Britannia would be able to enter territorial waters without further inflaming the conflict.

DECOMMISSION

"Looking back over forty-four years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction." - Queen Elizabeth II. View the entire Paying-Off Ceremony letter below.

OPENED AS A VISITOR ATTRACTION

After arriving in Leith, Edinburgh on 5 May 1998, The Royal Yacht Britannia opened as a visitor attraction on the 19 October 1998.

BRITANNIA WELCOMED 5 MILLION VISITORS

The Royal Yacht Britannia, now a five-star visitor attraction and exclusive evening events venue, celebrated welcoming 5 million visitors since opening in 1998.

OUR LUXURY FLOATING HOTEL, FINGAL, OPENED

In January 2019, our luxury floating hotel Fingal opened to the public. Fingal, a former Northern Lighthouse Board tender, had undergone a £5 million development to become a 22 cabin five-star floating hotel, berthed moments away from Britannia. In September 2023, Fingal was awarded AA Hotel of the Year Scotland.

TRIPADVISOR'S NO.1 UK ATTRACTION 2023

The Royal Yacht Britannia was voted Tripadvisor's No.1 UK Attraction 2023. What a wonderful accolade for our team who passionately provide a five-star customer experience to ensure each and every visitor has a memorable time on board. Britannia had previously been awarded this prestigious accolade in 2014.

CELEBRATING BRITANNIA'S 25 YEARS

19 October 2023 marks 25 wonderful years since Britannia opened to the public as a visitor attraction. During this time we have welcomed over 7 million visitors, a brilliant milestone to mark the occasion. We thank each and every visitor who has stepped aboard and look forward to welcoming many more to share our history.

Visiting Britannia

Tripadvisor’s No.1 UK Attraction 2023

Start your tour at our Ticket Centre, currently located on the Ground Floor of Ocean Terminal. Please note that tickets purchased in person are by card/contactless only. 

Please pre-book your tickets to guarantee admission.

Due to upcoming construction work at Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre , Britannia will be closed 25-28 June.

Click on the Visit page  for more information before you visit.

Step aboard to enjoy a great day out!

Fingal Hotel

Get away from the everyday aboard Britannia’s sister ship, Fingal.  Extend your visit with a stay in one of Fingal’s luxurious cabins, your own oasis by the sea. 

AA Hotel of the Year Scotland, AA five-star hotel and 2 AA Rosettes

Learn more: fingal.co.uk

When was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned? Where it is moored now and the history of the ship

The yacht is now a permanent visitor attraction in port leith, edinburgh.

Season five of The Crown starts in 1991 with the fictional Queen all-but-demanding a new Royal Yacht from then-Prime Minister John Major.

The luxurious yacht was a mainstay for Elizabeth II and Prince Philip , and comfortably carried the royals and dignitaries across the globe between 1953 and 1997.

King Charles II first launched the idea that a personal boat was essential for a ruling monarch, and by the time Elizabeth II acceded to the throne the Royal Yacht had evolved into a vessel of opulence, designed for long journeys and luxurious holiday cruises.

The Royal Yacht Britannia had spacious cabins, an onboard car garage, sun lounge, drawing room, plush bedrooms and amenities for 220 crewmembers (including several bars and pubs).

What happened to the Royal Yacht Britannia?

The first episode of the new season of The Crown shows the Queen lobbying for a new boat to replace the out-dated Royal Yacht Britannia. However, the replacement vessel never came to fruition.

In 2018, The Times reported that the Queen had “secretly lobbied Whitehall” in 1995, when senior Buckingham Palace official, Sir Kenneth Scott, wrote to the Cabinet Office saying that the Queen would “very much welcome” a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The letter, found in the National Archive, said: “I have deliberately taken a back seat in recent correspondence, since the question of whether there should be a replacement yacht is very much one for the Government and since the last thing I would like to see is a newspaper headline saying ‘Queen Demands New Yacht’.

“At the same time I hope it is clear to all concerned that this reticence on the part of the palace in no way implies that Her Majesty is not deeply interested in the subject; on the contrary, the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st Century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”

The Queen was later photographed crying as the boat moored in Portsmouth after its final journey.

More from News

When was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned?

Despite the monarch’s love of the yacht, Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 after Tony Blair was voted into power.

However, Boris Johnson imagined a new Royal Yacht to replace Britannia . The project was later scrapped – making it the fourth plan of his to have been axed at a total cost of more than £51m to the British taxpayer.

Rishi Sunak abandoned plans for the flagship, which would have been used to drive trade deals in the post-Brexit Britain , as he embarked on an agenda of cutting spending in the Autumn Statement .

Building the ship, which was set to launch by the end of 2024, would have cost in the region of £250m.

Where is the Royal Yacht Britannia now?

The yacht is now a permanent attraction in Port Leith, Edinburgh, and welcomes up to 300,000 visitors a year.

There was controversy over the siting of the ship, with some arguing that it would be better moored on the River Clyde, where it was built, than in Edinburgh. However, the ship’s positioning in Leith coincided with a redevelopment of the harbour area, and the advent of Scottish devolution.

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What to Know About the Royal Yacht Britannia Featured on 'The Crown' Season 5

The Royal Yacht Britannia served as the official royal yacht of the British monarchy for 44 years

The Crown is diving into royal events from the '90s in season 5 , and that includes the decommissioning of Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia.

In the first episode of the new season, Claire Foy ( who portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1 and 2) reprises her role as the monarch as a flashback shows the yacht's official launch in April 1953.

At the time, the new yacht held special significance as it was launched by the Queen just before her own coronation in June 1953 .

Through the years, the vessel sailed over 1,000,000 nautical miles on 968 state visits with the royal family as they entertained prime ministers and presidents, per the Royal Yacht Britannia website. It also served as the venue for several royal honeymoons , including Princess Diana and Princes Charles in 1981 .

From when it was commissioned to where the Royal Yacht Britannia is now, here's everything to know about the royal yacht.

When was the Royal Yacht Britannia commissioned?

As shown on The Crown , Royal Yacht Britannia was officially launched on April 16, 1953 , at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, where Queen Elizabeth unveiled the yacht's official name.

Following Queen Elizabeth 's coronation on June 2, 1953, the Royal Yacht Britannia was commissioned into the Royal Navy on January 11, 1954, before sailing her first overseas port on April 22.

How big is the Royal Yacht Britannia?

The Royal Yacht Britannia is about 412 feet long , with a beam width of 55 feet and five decks , and weighs over 4,000 tons.

Who used the Royal Yacht Britannia?

The yacht was described as the royal family's "floating residence" during its 44 years of service. As it was used to host "magnificent state receptions and banquets, and guests ," numerous world leaders boarded the yacht over the years, including Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan and Rajiv Gandhi.

Per the Royal Yacht Britannia website, the yacht also " allowed the Royal Family some rare privacy away from their public duties and was famously described by HM Queen Elizabeth II as 'the one place I can truly relax.' "

Furthermore, the Royal Yacht Britannia was the venue of four royal honeymoons : Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. All four royal marriages ended in divorce, which Queen Elizabeth famously reflected on in her 1992 speech where she referred to the past year as her "annus horribilis ," or horrible year.

When was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned?

The yacht's retirement was announced in 1994 as a result of the substantial costs needed to repair the ship. It was estimated that the cost would £17 million, which would only prolong the yacht for another five years.

On December 11, 1997, the Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned during an official ceremony that was attended by most of the senior members of the royal family. It was been reported that Queen Elizabeth was seen uncharacteristically shedding a tear during the decommissioning.

"Looking back over 44 years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction," the Queen said at the time .

Where is the Royal Yacht Britannia now?

Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, people can now visit the Royal Yacht Britannia at Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. Visitors are able to see various parts of the yacht including Britannia's five decks, the state apartments, as well as the Sun Lounge, which was the Queen's favorite room in which to have her afternoon tea.

Does the Royal Yacht Britannia have a successor?

Plans for a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia first began in 2019 when it was reported that the late Sir Donald Gosling had donated £50 million to pay for the construction . In 2021, the yacht was commissioned by Boris Johnson to host trade fairs and diplomatic events and it was expected to go into service in 2024 or 2025.

However, in November 2022, it was reported by BBC that plans for the yacht were being scrapped as the government "searches for spending cuts." The new yacht was estimated to cost up to £250 million.

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'The Crown' Raises Questions About Britannia — Where Is the Royal Yacht?

The Britannia was a grand ship that transported the British Royal Family overseas for decades. What happened to the yacht? Here's what we know.

Feb. 22 2023, Updated 10:41 a.m. ET

What happened to the royal family's yacht, Britannia?

The britannia required major maintenance and repairs over the years., where is the royal yacht britannia now.

The British Royal Family 's yacht, the Britannia , is believed to have traveled more than 1 million maritime miles during her 43 years of sailing. Much like its passengers, the Britannia was a regal vessel that carried the royal family overseas for important visits and vacations. However, the yacht also required expensive maintenance.

If you're curious about what became of the yacht after watching The Crown or due to your love for the royal family , look no further — we've done the digging for you.

Although The Crown is a dramatized retelling of the royal family's history, the yacht is very much real. The 412-foot vessel could hold more than 250 guests. The Britannia also hosted U.S. presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. In 1986, it even served as a shelter for over 1,000 refugees fleeing a civil war in Aden, Yemen .

The Britannia first set sail in 1954 from Portsmouth to Grand Harbor, accompanied by Prince Charles and Princess Anne. The boat was built by the Scottish shipbuilding firm John Brown & Company Ltd. in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, and was launched by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales on board the Royal Yacht Britannia in Gibraltar, at the start of their honeymoon cruise, August 1981. She is wearing a floral silk dress by Donald Campbell.

The Britannia was an aging vessel with nearly five decades worth of nautical mileage. It was in need of expensive repairs and stirred a small debate as to how it would be paid for. In Season 5 of The Crown , Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip are shown vacationing in Scotland aboard the royal yacht. They discussed restoration costs.

During this time, which was also an election year, there were conversations within the Conservative party about replacing the vessel, while the Labour party promised not to use taxpayers' money to renovate the ship within their first two years of government.

"The yacht last underwent a major refit in 1987. A further refit at an estimated cost of some £17 million would be necessary in 1996–1997 but would only prolong her life for a further five years," said Viscount Cranborne, House of Lords Hansard. "In view of her age, even after the refit, she would be difficult to maintain and expensive to run. It has therefore been decided to decommission 'Britannia' in 1997."

When the Labour party won the election in 1997, it was ultimately decided that the ship wouldn't be replaced.

"We made clear that we would not spend public money on a royal yacht, and I am keeping that promise," said George Robertson, Labour's Defence Secretary at the time. "We in the Ministry of Defence have to justify every penny of the taxpayers' money that we spend, and in this case, I could not do so."

The Britannia retired on Dec. 11, 1997. Today it sits at the Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II was even reported to have wept during the decommissioning ceremony. The Britannia is open to the public and has more than 300,000 visitors each year to keep her company.

Living my best ‘The Crown’ life onboard the @britanniayacht . pic.twitter.com/ppO1GcyA7j — Morag (@MoragForbes) January 21, 2023

Those who are interested in getting a first-hand experience at what it was like to travel in luxury some decades ago can visit the Royal Yacht Britannia museum for a small fee. Entrance fees start at £18.50 (about $23) for adults and £9.25 (about $11) for children between the ages of 5 and 17. During the tour, you can expect to see the following:

• Britannia's five decks
• Visit the bridge
• Walk through the Queen's favorite room
• Tour the engine room
• Enjoy a light lunch in the Royal Deck Tea Room

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Where is the Royal Yacht Britannia and why was it decommissioned?

Queen Elizabeth’s farewell to the Royal Yacht in 1997 was one of the only occasions in her 70-year-reign that Her Majesty publicly shed a tear.

Almost 25 years ago, HMY Britannia left Portsmouth for a farewell tour around the UK . It went to six major ports across the UK, including Glasgow.

Why was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned and where is it today?

Why was it decommissioned?

The Royal Yacht was decommissioned in 1994 by John Major’s Government because “the costs were too great”, according to the official website.

The decision was made after the Royal Yacht was used for a long and successful journey spanning 44 years and travelling more than one million miles across the globe.

The issue of a new royal yacht became a political issue in the run-up to the 1997 General Election, when the new Labour Government came into power.

After the election, Tony Blair’s Government confirmed in October 1997 there would be no replacement for Britannia.

It marked the end of a long tradition of British royal yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II.

Where is the HMY Britannia?

Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland .

Today, the Royal yacht is open to curious visitors and welcomes more than 300,000 visits each year.

Britannia was launched in 1953 from the John Brown and Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland .

Its purpose was to serve the Royal Family and it was the first to be built with complete ocean-going capacity, designed as a royal residence to entertain guests around the world.

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For more than 44 years, it travelled more than one million miles with Her Majesty for state visits, official receptions, royal honeymoons, and relaxing family holidays.

Britannia quickly became one of the most famous ships in the world and now stands as a majestic symbol of Great Britain.

The Story Behind the Royal Family's Yacht, Britannia

The ship hosted four royal honeymoons in its 44 years of service.

Often referred to as the last royal yacht, the Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, and despite some efforts , there are no signs of a new one in the near future. Though its seafaring days may be behind it (the ship now serves as a tourist attraction in Edinburgh, Scotland), the Britannia remains an important artifact and a peek behind the curtain of royal life—it even garnered a prominent place in the fifth season of The Crown . Below, a few of its most notable moments throughout history.

It was the first royal yacht designed for ocean travel.

The ship was built by John Brown & Co at the same shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland in the same location the famous ocean liners the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary were constructed. With 12,000 horsepower, the ship could travel at a maximum 22.5 knots (approximately 25 miles per hour), ideal for ocean-going diplomacy. Prior to its launch in 1953, the royal family used ships from the Royal Navy or even passenger liners for the overseas portions of the royal tour.

In its 44 years of service, the HMY Britannia traveled around 1.1 million miles.

It was commissioned just two days before the death of King George VI.

The King was already in failing health by the time the designs for the HMY Britannia were submitted, and the hope was that traveling might help alleviate some of his symptoms. However, just two days after the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland received the order the King passed away on February 6, 1952.

It would take just over a year for the ship to be completed, during which time its name remained a secret—it wasn't announced until the ship's official launch in April of 1953, less than two months before the Queen's coronation . Elizabeth cracked a bottle of English wine (in the post-war era, champagne was considered too extravagant for the launch of a ship) and announced, "I name this ship Britannia … I wish success to her and all who sail in her."

It was created to double as a hospital.

When Britannia was first envisioned, less than a decade after the end of World War II, the designers sought to make it as functional as possible, crafting a space that could be converted from an ocean-going royal residence to a seafaring hospital during any possible future wartime. The main veranda was laid out and re-enforced so that it could support a helicopter landing and the laundry was made much larger than on a standard naval vessel to accommodate the potential patients. Though the ship was never actually put to that purpose, it was pressed into service on a rescue mission to help evacuate European nationals from South Yemen in 1986.

The ship was home to a lot of history.

Long before it became a floating museum, the Britannia had an eye for history. 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 . Likewise, some of the bed linens used by Queen Elizabeth aboard the vessel were originally made for Victoria's bed for one of the previous royal yachts.

Britannia's steering wheel was lifted from her namesake, the racing yacht HMY Britannia , built in 1893 for King Edward VII .

It was redesigned to be less opulent.

Despite the sense of luxury that the term "royal yacht" inspires, the Queen and Prince Philip were actually concerned when they began overseeing the project in 1952 that the original interior design plans by the design firm McInnes Gardner & Partners were too lavish for a country still recovering from the war. The interiors were ultimately redesigned by Sir Hugh Casson and received very minimal updates throughout her 44 years of service.

But it still had homey touches—by royal standards.

Suffice to say that even low-key royal living is a fairly high class. In addition to the 56-seat State Dining Room, which hosted luminaries including Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Nelson Mandela, and multiple US Presidents, the ship also sported a formal staircase where the Queen would greet guests, separate bedrooms and sitting rooms for both Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh, and a phone system designed to match the unique configurations of Buckingham Palace's telephones.

In the early years of the Britannia's life it was also home to the Queen's Rolls-Royce Phantom V which was hoisted and lowered from a special garage compartment at port so that the Queen could drive her own car at each location. The space was ever so slightly too small, forcing the bumpers to be removed in order to get it into the garage without damage and then refitted when the car was removed. Ultimately Elizabeth began using cars provided for her at port instead and the garage was converted into a storage area for beer.

The steering crew couldn't see where they were going.

Life on board the HMY Britannia was far from typical for her crew. To begin with, due to the prestige and pressure of the position, the commanding officer of the royal yacht was always a flag officer, most commonly a Rear Admiral, although the first two to serve were Vice Admirals, and Britannia 's final CO was a Commodore.

While working, the crew reportedly used hand signals to communicate rather than shouting orders, in order to maintain a sense of quiet and calm for the royal residents. It was also the last ship in the royal navy where the crew members slept in hammocks, a practice that they maintained until 1973.

Perhaps the most unusual element of the ship's functioning, though, was the steering. While on most ships, the steering wheel sits on the bridge, overlooking the front of the vessel, Britannia 's was on the deck below, in the wheelhouse, which meant that the yachtsmen who were actually doing the steering couldn't see where they were going. The crew got around this rather surprising pitfall by using voice pipes from the bridge to confer navigational orders.

It was a royal honeymoon essential.

No fewer than four royal couples celebrated their honeymoons in the HMY Britannia 's honeymoon suite (the only room onboard with a double bed.)

Princess Margaret started the tradition in 1960 for her Caribbean honeymoon with Anthony Armstrong-Jones , a quiet, formal affair where dinners were taken in full evening dress every night. Things didn't go quite as smoothly for Princess Anne on her honeymoon with Captain Mark Phillips in 1973—storms and 20-foot waves left the couple stricken with seasickness for the first week of their Caribbean cruise. Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously spent their 1981 honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the yacht. The crew managed to duck the press so efficiently they garnered the nickname "the ghost ship." The final royal honeymoon aboard the Britannia was taken by Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson , Duchess of York in 1986 when the couple traveled around the Azores.

And a family vacation spot.

In addition to her diplomatic duties on royal tours and her service as a post-wedding retreat, the Britannia was also a vessel for family vacations. During the summer months, the royal family would often take off on what became known as the Western Isles tour, cruising around the western isles of Scotland. During the trip, the family would play games and have barbecues on the islands. The stairway off of the veranda was sometimes even converted into a waterslide for the younger royals. The tour often included a stop off at the Castle of Mey to visit the Queen Mother, then making berth in Aberdeen so that the Queen could travel to her favorite summer home, Balmoral .

The Queen openly wept when HMY Britannia was decommissioned in 1997.

With so many memories around the yacht, it's not hard to understand why the decommissioning of the Britannia was upsetting for the royal family. Though plans were initially drawn up for a replacement yacht, the government ultimately determined not to fund the effort. After the Queen officially took her leave of it in 1997, the ship was placed in the port of Leith in Scotland where it serves as a floating museum and events venue . All of the clocks on board remain stopped at 3:01, the exact time that Her Majesty disembarked for the last time.

It was used for a reception for Zara Phillips before her wedding.

Though it's no longer used as their private vessel, the Britannia 's connection to the royal family didn't end in 1997. In 2011 on the night before her wedding, the Queen's oldest granddaughter Zara Phillips contracted the ship for a reception. Though her grandmother wasn't in attendance Zara celebrated her upcoming marriage to Mike Tindall onboard along with her mother and her cousins Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate, Princess Eugenie, and Princess Beatrice.

Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

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Santa Clara on Brink of a Record : Prep basketball: Saints face Hayward in final in bid to become first boys’ team to win three consecutive California state titles.

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Once more, with feeling.

For the third consecutive game in the state high school basketball tournament, Santa Clara will square off with a slightly smaller but decidedly quicker team.

The Saints (28-4), the Southern California champions, will meet Hayward (33-2), Northern California and North Coast Section champion, at 8 tonight at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for the state Division IV championship.

Santa Clara, winner of two consecutive state titles, stands poised to make history. No boys’ team has won three California state titles in a row.

“We’ll be ready,” Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. “We’ve played 32 games, and against the type of competition we’ve played . . . we (had) better be ready.”

Santa Clara’s last two wins, over St. Monica and San Diego Lincoln Prep, came against teams that tried to run the patient Saints out of the gym. Against St. Monica, Santa Clara nearly stumbled, falling behind by 11 in the third quarter before rallying to win.

But against Lincoln Prep, Santa Clara’s extended match-up zone took away Lincoln’s outside shooting and Santa Clara’s strong rebounding took away the Hornets’ running game.

In Hayward, the Saints face an accomplished team that has beaten some highly regarded Northern California schools.

Hayward’s tallest player is 6-foot-4 but of their top three scorers, the tallest, junior Shaun Pennington (16 points a game) is 6-2 and the two others, senior Laron Floyd (19 ppg) and junior Gerald Walker (19 ppg), are 6-foot. Santa Clara counters with three 6-4 starters in Chris Cole, Stevie Amar and Isaiah Mustafa.

Like St. Monica and Lincoln Prep, Hayward is athletic and likes to run. Coach Charley Kendall says that his team is also disciplined.

“We run when we can, but if we have to be disciplined we can,” Kendall said. “You would hope so with four starters back.”

Last season’s Hayward team glided into the playoffs with a 28-2 record, but Hayward was stunned by little-known Mill Valley Tamalpais in the second round.

Kendall says that the loss to the Indians proved beneficial in the long run.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” he said. “The four starters coming back weren’t happy. I wasn’t happy. We were very undisciplined and very young and it turned us around. We made a commitment to hard work and discipline.”

That commitment has paid off this season. Hayward won two games against powerful Mt. Eden, beat Northern California Division III champion Fremont Washington twice and prestigious Oakland Fremont once. In the state playoffs, Hayward’s margin of victory was never less than 17 points and the Farmers disposed of Travis Air Force Base Vanden, 72-45, in the Northern California final. Vanden was 30-1 entering the game.

“We didn’t play chicken-feed competition,” Kendall said. “We scheduled tough and it paid off.”

Santa Clara lost only to four highly rated teams this season. The Saints have been winning games by closer margins than a season ago when they swept to the state title behind All-American Shon Tarver, but that may be a plus if tonight’s game is a thriller.

Santa Clara has four juniors in the starting five, but the Saints have shown no tendency to rush in the playoffs. In fact, Santa Clara’s patience might have been the difference against St. Monica.

And while this is Hayward’s first appearance in the state final, most of Santa Clara’s players made the trip last year to Oakland.

“I think the kids know what’s at stake,” Cvijanovich said. “Everything is just fine.”

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