flags on royal yacht britannia

The flags flown on Britannia were first specified in Regulations of 1824, confirmed by Order in Council 3 July 1833, but were based on a custom that probably began at the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Charles II returned to England in the Naseby flying, in addition to the usual flags, the anchor flag of the Lord High Admiral (LHA) at the foremast, the Royal Standard at the main, and the Union Jack at the mizzen (mast near the stern). The significance was said to be; Lord High Admiral - I am the source, from which are derived the powers of the Lord High Admiral. Royal Standard - I am Charles. Union Jack - I am King of Britain. At that time it was normal for ships above a certain size to have three masts, but when Britannia was built at least one otherwise unnecessary mast was added, in order that flags could be hoisted at three mastheads. When no member of the royal family was on board, the jack and ensign were worn in the normal fashion whether at sea or in port. I believe the captain of the royal yacht was a commodore, so there was always at least a commodore's broad pennant at the fore mast. When a member of the royal family was on board the jack and ensign were flown night and day, whether in port or at sea. In addition the appropriate flags were flown at the mastheads. There were some interesting combinations when the Queen visited a Commonwealth country, or when the senior member of the royal family was someone other than the Queen. Queen in Jamaica. Lord High Admiral - Jamaican Royal Standard - Jamaican National Flag . Queen in South Africa. Lord High Admiral - Big 'E' - Union Jack Prince Charles. Vice-Admiral's Flag - Prince of Wales Standard - Trinity House Jack . Charles is only a Rear-Admiral, so there must have been a Vice-Admiral on board who out-ranked him. See also our page on the Trinity House Jack for the use of this flag by the Prince of Wales. Duke of Edinburgh. Admiral of the Fleet - Duke of Edinburgh's Standard - ? The Admiral of the Fleet's Flag is a Union Jack; I cannot identify the flag at the mizzen. It is the flag of St George with a yellow emblem in the centre of the cross. David Prothero , 28 March 2003

I saw the same picture and went through the Duke of Edinburgh's listing of positions held (I just don't know how he finds the time!). The things that seemed possibly flag-related were:

I visited the Royal Yacht Britannia, the royal family's luxurious private cruise ship known as a 'floating palace.' Take a look inside.

• The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.
• The ship is now a museum open to the public in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• The tour shows the Queen's bedroom, state rooms used for entertaining, and crew bunks.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.

With its many royal family vacations and official tours, the yacht logged over 1 million miles , the equivalent of one trip around the world for each of its 44 years at sea.

The Queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax."

The Labour government decommissioned the ship in 1997 due to its high operation cost of £11 million each year, Reuters reported . That's equivalent to about $23 million today.

At the decommissioning ceremony, the Queen  shed a rare public tear .

The ship has made several appearances in Netflix's "The Crown," including season five .

The yacht is now a museum open to the public in Edinburgh, Scotland.

On a recent trip to Scotland , I booked a ticket for the Royal Yacht Britannia museum, which costs £18.50 ($23) for adults.

The entrance is located inside the Ocean Terminal shopping center in Edinburgh.

Before boarding the yacht, visitors walk through a museum detailing the boat's history and connection to the royal family.

The five-story ship was a royal residence as well as a Royal Navy ship, with a full-time staff of more than 240 royal yachtsmen and officers.

The museum displays photos of the royal family's life aboard the ship, as well as items like crew uniforms.

Then, a walkway with more photos leads to the deck of the boat.

The ship is docked on the water just outside the shopping center.

I listened to the audio tour of the ship on my phone by scanning a QR code.

There were also separate listening devices available.

Each room of the ship had a number that you could type in and press "play" to hear about your surroundings in an array of languages.

The first stop was the bridge, the main control point of the yacht.

In this small space, officers navigated the seas and recorded data in the ship's logbooks.

Outside, the flag deck is the highest point on the ship.

Britannia had three masts, and different flags were used to communicate with other ships on the water.

The admiral's cabin and suite is the most spacious on the ship, aside from the royal apartments.

The admiral's accommodations featured a day room, bedroom, bathroom, and pantry. The sofa and armchairs in the dayroom are over 100 years old and came from the previous royal yacht, Victoria and Albert III.

The royal family often sunbathed, played deck hockey, or swam in a collapsible swimming pool on the Veranda Deck.

Part of the yacht's royal quarters, the deck was also used for receptions and group photos.

Prince Philip occasionally set up his easel on the deck to paint.

Overlooking the Veranda Deck, the Sun Lounge was one of the Queen's favorite rooms on the ship.

Queen Elizabeth would often take her breakfast and afternoon tea in the Sun Lounge.

The Queen's bedroom on the Royal Yacht Britannia featured bed linens that once belonged to Queen Victoria.

The embroidered silk panel above the Queen's bed, commissioned in 1953, cost £450 ($560, or $6,250 in today's money).

Her sheets were embossed with "HM The Queen."

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had separate bedrooms connected by an adjoining door.

Each room had its own bathroom.

Philip's bedroom featured red linens, and he requested pillowcases without lace trim.

A button next to each of their beds would summon a royal steward.

Across the hall, the Honeymoon Suite was the only room onboard with a double bed.

The double bed was requested by then-Prince Charles when he honeymooned with Princess Diana in 1981.

The room was also used as a nursery when the royal children were young.

The Anteroom served as a recreational space for the officers, off-limits to the rest of the crew.

Officers would spend their time here listening to the radio and playing board games.

The royal family occasionally dined in the adjoining Wardroom.

Britannia's 19 officers ate meals here, accompanied by the Royal Marines Band.

Britannia has three galleys, which are still working kitchens today.

The galleys prepare food for the Royal Deck Tea Room and events hosted on the ship.

The Royal Deck Tea Room offers an extensive menu of soups, sandwiches, scones, and other treats for visitors to the museum.

The royal family once used the space to entertain guests and play deck games.

The state dining room is the largest room on the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, and many other world leaders dined here with the royal family.

The placement of each utensil was measured with a ruler.

Just off the state dining room, the Queen's sitting room served as her office.

Here, the Queen would meet with her press secretaries and prepare for royal visits.

On the opposite side of the hall, the Duke of Edinburgh had his own sitting room.

Both Philip and Charles used the room as a study. Philip kept a model of his first naval command, the HMS Magpie, above his desk.

The telephones connecting the sitting rooms to each other and their private secretaries' offices are identical to the phones used in Buckingham Palace.

The large Drawing Room and connecting Anteroom could accommodate up to 250 guests.

The Drawing Room featured an electric fireplace and cozy floral furniture. When it wasn't being used as a reception space during formal events, the royal family used it to relax and play games on the card tables.

Petty officers and Royal Marine sergeants kicked back in their living quarters, also known as the mess.

Petty officers would occasionally entertain the Queen and other royal family members here.

The crew bunks weren't as glamorous as the royal apartments.

Each bunk folded up into a seat, and crew members stored their possessions in lockers.

Britannia's NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) shop sold souvenirs and sweets, as well as essentials like toothpaste.

Diana once bought Prince William a Britannia souvenir shirt from the shop. Today, it sells homemade fudge to museum guests.

The ship's sick bay and operating theater still feature the original furnishings from the 1950s.

The ship's doctor attended to crew members, while the Queen's royal surgeon traveled with her on voyages.

Britannia's laundry room could reach temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit as it washed up to 600 shirts in one day.

The royal family's laundry was done on different days than the crew's laundry.

All of the clocks onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia are stopped at 3:01 p.m.

The clocks are frozen at the  time the Queen stepped off the ship for the last time  during its decommissioning ceremony in December 1997.

The tour concludes in a gift shop full of royal souvenirs.

Amid the Britannia-themed mugs, pens, and aprons, the gift shop also sold replicas of royal jewelry.

There's even a photo-op at the end of the tour where you can practice your royal wave.

The tour was full of surprising facts about royal life and travels, and I couldn't believe that we actually got to see inside Queen Elizabeth's bedroom on the ship. It's definitely worth a visit.

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The Story Behind the Royal Family's Yacht, Britannia

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

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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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The Royal Yacht Britannia Has a Fascinating History—Here's Everything You Should Know

It doesn't get more majestic than Queen Elizabeth II's yacht.

Seventy years ago, the Britannia began its journey as the royal yacht for Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. Over the next 44 years she’d travel more than a million nautical miles and, in all her glamour and old world elegance, served as a residence that welcomed state visits from all over the world and family holidays alike. Then and now, she was and is a majestic symbol of the British Commonwealth and the reign of Queen Elizabeth II .

“Britannia is special for a number of reasons,” Prince Phillip once said. “Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace or just a house. The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia. As such she is a splendid example of contemporary British design and technology.”

Although she retired from service in 1997, today the Britannia, one of many of the world's grandest yachts , is docked in Edinburgh, where she is open as a visitors’ attraction and host of private events. Below we give you all the Royal Yacht Britannia facts you might want to know, from who owns the yacht now to why she was decommissioned to how fast she is to how to get tickets to visit. Britannia was, after all, the one place the queen said she could “truly relax,” so why not see why for yourself?

Royal Yacht Britania Facts and History

On February 4, 1952, John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, received the order from the Admiralty to build a new Royal Yacht to travel the globe and double as a hospital ship in times of war, according to the royal yacht's website . King George VI passed away two days after, sadly, and so on April 16, 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II announced the yacht’s new name as the ship was revealed.

"I name this ship Britannia,” she said. “I wish success to her and all who sail in her." Britannia was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1954 and by April of that year sailed into her first overseas port: Grand Harbour, Malta.

The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh worked with interior designer Sir Hugh Casson for the ship to serve as both a functional Royal Navy vessel and an elegant royal residence. Queen Elizabeth II selected deep blue for Britannia’s hull, instead of the more traditional black. Its Naval crew included 220 Yachtsmen, 20 officers, and three season officers—plus a Royal Marines Band of 26 men during Royal Tours.

All of them might have had to change uniform up to six times a day, so the laundry service on board worked nonstop. The yacht also engaged in British overseas trade missions known as Sea Days and made an estimated £3 billion for the Exchequer between 1991 and 1995 alone.

The ship’s wheel was taken from King Edward VII’s racing yacht, also named Britannia, according to Boat International , and the 126-meter ship could reach speeds of 22.75 knots, or a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots, according to Super Yacht Times . Other fun facts: The yacht could produce her own fresh water from sea water, and shouting was forbidden aboard to preserve tranquility, favoring hand signals for Naval orders instead.

Over the next 44 years, the Britannia would sail the equivalent of once around the world for each year, in total visiting 600 ports in 135 countries. Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones were the first of four couples to honeymoon on the ship in 1960, gifting them all privacy to sail to secluded locations. Prince Charles and Princess Diana followed in 1981 on the Mediterranean as well as Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips before them in 1973 in the Caribbean and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 in the Azores.

For family vacations aboard the ship, games, treasure hunts, plays, and picnics were organized, and on warm days the children could play in an inflatable paddling pool on the Verandah Deck.

In the Sun Lounge, the queen especially enjoyed taking breakfast and afternoon tea with views through large picture windows, a space you can see replicated in the TV show The Crown. Although no filming took place on board the Britannia for the show, researchers ensured scenes aboard it were accurate. In the queen’s bedroom, the resemblance is seen down to the decorative wall light fittings and embroidered silk panel above her bed that had been specially commissioned.

In 1997, the ship was decommissioned after the government decided the costs to refit it would be too great. On its final day in her service that followed a farewell tour around the U.K., the queen openly wept as the Band of HM Royal Marines played "Highland Cathedral."

"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," Queen Elizabeth II said. All clocks on the ship stopped at 15:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked from the yacht for the final time, and they would remain at that time until the present.

How to Tour the Royal Yacht Britania

Today the yacht is owned by Royal Yacht Britannia Trus t, and all revenue it generates goes to the yacht’s maintenance and preservation. Ticketed entry allows you to step into state rooms like the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room and State Drawing Room, in addition to the working side of the ship in the Crew’s Quarters, Laundry and gleaming Engine Room. Along the way you will see original artifacts from the shop—95 percent of which is on loan from The Royal Collection.

How to Visit the Royal Britania

You can visit the Britannia any day of the year on Edinburgh’s waterfront. Hours vary by season, and you can find them listed and purchase tickets on the yacht’s website . Private tours are also available, and you can visit the Royal Deck Tearoom, where the Royal Family hosted cocktail parties and receptions, for drinks, meals and scones. Additionally, the Britannia hosts special ticketed events for New Year’s and other occasions, and event spaces can be booked as well.

While you are in Edinburgh, you can also stay on the Fingal , a neighboring yacht-turned-floating-hotel, which is a seven-minute walk from the Britannia, and dine at its Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar, which serves breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner, and cocktails.

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The Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ

Tel: 0131 555 5566 Email us: [email protected]

Britannia will be closed 11-23 March and 25-28 June due to the redevelopment of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre

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Tripadvisor’s No.1 UK Attraction 2023

Step aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia

Explore each of the five decks of The Royal Yacht Britannia, Best UK Attraction (Tripadvisor) and discover what life was like during Royal service on board Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace. A great day out for all the family at this top attraction in Edinburgh.

Temporarily Closed

11 - 23 march and 25 - 28 june.

Britannia will be closed 11 - 23 March and 25 - 28 June due to the redevelopment of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.

Ticket information, opening times and more.

Buy Tickets

Pre-book your tickets to visit The Royal Yacht Britannia, top attraction in Leith.

Homemade soups, sandwiches and cakes, along with speciality teas and coffees.

Apply for 12 months' free admission after your first visit.

Stay at our luxury floating hotel, Fingal, AA Hotel of the Year Scotland.

Find souvenirs and gifts from Britannia's online Gift Shop.

Visiting Britannia

Due to upcoming construction work at Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre , Britannia will be closed 11 - 23 March and 25-28 June.

Click on the Visit page  for all you need to know 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

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A racing flag from the Royal Sailing Yacht Britannia, circa 1936

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A racing flag from the Royal Sailing Yacht Britannia, circa 1936.  This large racing flag was made from pieced wool bunting with machine stitched bunting and a canvas sleeve stamped  ‘5’ .  It is of rectangular form with the Prince of Wales feathers enclosed in a ducal coronet and the motto ‘ Ich Dien’  on a halved blue and red ground, later framed and glazed.  It is accompanied by a black edged letter on Buckingham Palace writing paper dated 10 th  July 1936 saying  ‘ Dear Sir, I am commanded by the King and Queen Mary to send you these flags which were flown on board “Britannia” at various  times during her career, including one of her racing flags.  Their Majesties hope you will like to keep these in your club house as souvenirs of the old yacht.  Yours    Derek Keppell,   Master of the Household, The Commodore, Royal Portsmouth Corinthian Yacht Club. ”  King George died on 20 January 1936 which explains the black edge to the letter.  English, circa 1936. 

Height: 43in (109cm) Width: 60in (152.5cm) Framed height: 57½ in (146 cm) Width: 81½ in (207cm).

Provenance: Royal Naval Club & Royal Albert Yacht Club, Portsmouth.

R.S.Y.  Britannia  played an important part in preparing challengers for the America’s Cup.  She was used as a trial horse for the  Shamrocks  and later, after conversion, for most of the ‘J’ Class yachts of the 1930s.   Britannia  was built in 1893 according to the plans of G. L. Watson for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, a keen and able helmsman.  From the beginning,  Britannia  was a successful racing yacht winning races against Kaiser Wilhelm’s  Meteors , among many others.   Britannia  won over two hundred races in her career — a record that has yet to be surpassed.  She was beaten once by  Navahoe , one of Herreshoff’s boats, but fared better against another America’s Cup yacht,  Vigilant , winning twelve races out of seventeen.  When  Britannia  was converted to race in the ‘J’ Class she was stripped of her bulwarks, given a one-piece mast and a Bermudan mainsail.  The transition did not interrupt her run of success, although she performed best in hard weather.  She was scuttled off the Isle of Wight at the dying request of George V. 

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The Royal Yacht Britannia : A History of Queen Elizabeth II’s Favorite Palace

By Lisa Liebman

The christening of The Royal Yacht Britannia serves as a cheeky season opener to  The Crown . Black-and-white Pathé News–style footage shows a soon-to-be-crowned Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) cheered on by shipbuilders as she launches her new 412-foot yacht. “I hope that this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant. Capable of weathering any storm,” she says about the royal replacement for the  Victoria and Albert III . By the series’ season finale, set 44 years later, both the sovereign and the floating palace she christened  Britannia will have hit rough seas—the cost of repairing the creaky old vessel and the modern role of the monarchy both in question. Ultimately, the yacht that undertook 968 official voyages all over the world, hosting dignitaries—including 13 US presidents—at receptions and banquets, was dry-docked near Edinburgh, Scotland, where it continues to be a popular tourist attraction. Here are some of the most buoyant facts about the palace the Queen famously said was “the one place where I can truly relax.”

The sun room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981. 

In a nod to the country’s post-war austerity, Elizabeth scaled back the design of the ship that her father, King George VI, had commissioned just two days before he died. Rather than following the opulent plan laid out by the Scottish firm McInnes Gardner & Partners, she opted for the understated elegance envisioned by architect Sir Hugh Casson, who described “running a lawn mower over the Louis XVIl adornments” in favor of simple white walls, lilac-gray carpeting, and “a bit of gilding in grand places.” Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip, were said to have personally chosen the furniture—much of it, including linens, recycled from the  Victoria and Albert —fabrics (florals, chintz, toile), and paintings. 

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on board the Royal Yacht Britannia as they prepare to depart on their honeymoon cruise in 1981.

As a former Royal Navy Commander, Prince Phillip also saw to the ship’s technical details, and his Bluebottle racing yacht inspired the Britannia ’s navy-hued hull. Outer decks were made of two-inch Burmese teak. The steering wheel was reclaimed from Britannia ’s namesake, King Edward VII’s 1893 racing yacht; a wheelhouse wheel came from George V’s racing yacht; and a gold-and-white binnacle (housing the ship’s compass) was salvaged from King George III’s yacht and installed on the Veranda deck. Fittings from former royal ships were also reused. 

The drawing room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1978. 

The 4,000-ton yacht had a crew of 220 Royal Yachtsmen who lived on board, about 45 household staff, and occasionally a 26-member Royal Marine embarked to entertain dignitaries. The monarch often welcomed guests from the ship’s grand staircase. (Stairs leading from the Veranda to the Royal deck were sometimes transformed into a water slide for the kids.)  Britannia ’s apartments were designed like those of a first-class ocean liner. A 56-seat state dining room, where many of the gifts given to the monarch (a wood-carved shark from Pitcairn Island, a bejeweled gold statue from Bangkok) were displayed, was the scene of formal dinners with guests such as Sir Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Nelson Mandela, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. More intimate gatherings were held in the Queen’s official reception room, a smaller state drawing room with floral upholstered pieces, simple wood tables, an electric fireplace, and a Welmar baby grand piano bolted to the deck—played by everyone from Sir Noël Coward to Princesses Diana and Margaret. The teak-clad sun lounge, with rattan furniture and a toile loveseat, was Elizabeth’s favorite place—where she had her breakfast, afternoon tea, and also enjoyed her favorite Dubonnet and gin cocktails.

The Queen’s sitting room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981. 

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Sydney Gore

By María Noval-Quílez

A ship elevator reserved for royal use moved between the Upper and Shelter Decks. The latter is where four Royal Apartments (bedrooms), including the Queen and Prince Phillip’s connecting compartments, were located. Hers featured florals, his had red accents. Elizabeth’s understated Upper Deck private sitting room, done in pastels and neutrals, served as the office where she conducted state business. Phillip used his sitting room, with its wood desk facing a model of his first command, the HMS Magpie , as his study. Below deck there was a wine cellar, as well as a cargo hold that could carry a barge, speed- and sailboats, plus a royal Range Rover and Rolls-Royce. The yacht could also be converted into a hospital (though it never was).

The Queen shed a tear at the decommissioning ceremony for thye Royal Yacht Britannia.

As depicted in  The Crown, Britannia ’s final official trip was to Hong Kong in 1997, where Prince Charles attended the handover of the territory to China. By then, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration was complaining that the £11 million a year needed to keep the boat afloat couldn’t be justified. With Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and all of their children in attendance,  Britannia was decommissioned at a ceremony in Portsmouth, England on December 11, 1997, with the monarch seen wiping away a tear. The yacht, now docked in Leith, Scotland, is open to the public as a museum and events space. (Prior to their wedding, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips’s daughter Zara Phillips and her fiancé Mike Tindall had a celebration there.) Visitors will note that every clock on board reads 3:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked her beloved  Britannia for the final time on that December day.

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Queen Elizabeth II & HMY "Britannia"

By: lynn e. mcelfresh , rick casali.

Like the rest of the world, we in the Thousand Islands will have our own personal memories of the Queen. Looking up photographs of the Queen's yacht, we discovered that our own Lynn McElfresh had written a lovely article for TI Life in April 2013! This article is well worth re-reading. Also, this week we received a revised article by Rick Casali from his original version published by the TI Sun in 2021. We include extracts from the articles here.

Excerpt: Lynn E. McElfresh's April article in 2013

When we travel to different corners of the world, I’m always amazed how often our experiences somehow link back to the St. Lawrence River. Our stay in Scotland in February provided two such links. I wrote about the St. Lawrence River Tartan last month. This month I’ll share our tour of the Britannia, the Royal Yacht of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The 415-foot, 5,000+ ton vessel was the floating home of the royal family for 44 years. The elegant blue-hulled beauty sailed over a million miles around the world on 968 official voyages. Two of those voyages took her under the Thousand Island Bridge and sailing past Grenell Island.

The Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 and is now moored in Leith Harbor near Edinburgh, Scotland. My husband, Gary, and I were only two of the quarter of a million visitors she’ll attract this year. We spent an entire morning aboard the yacht exploring her nooks and crannies . . .

On June 28, 1959, Britannia sailed under the Thousand Island Bridge. When we stood on the back deck, I imagined what Queen Elizabeth might have seen as she passed Grenell. There would have been a flotilla of small boats lining the seaway as she headed toward Lake Ontario. Lots of Grenellians remember watching the Royal Yacht pass.

Britannia passed Grenell again in 1967. Queen Elizabeth attended Expo ‘67 in Montreal, then cruised from Montreal to Kingston. The Queen disembarked in Kingston, traveled to Ottawa, then flew back to London. While I didn’t see Britannia on the St. Lawrence, I’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories. But I think of the other vessels like the Roseway, which I saw in St. Croix, and then in the Seaway; the Staten Island Ferry , which was en route from its builder on Lake Superior and on its way to New York City. We will be arriving for the 2013 season next month and I have to wonder what special vessels I will see on the Seaway this year. How blessed we are to be a part of this grand River that connects us with the rest of the world.

Description of several rooms followed Read the complete article here : https://tilife.org/BackIssues/Archive/tabid/393/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1202/Her-Majestyrsquos-Royal-Yacht.html

Rick Casali's Excerpt from the TI Sun, August 2021 :

During the queen’s 45-day visit and the dedication of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the " Britannia" was in full ship dress with nautical code flags, the queen’s personal yacht burgee, and, of course, the Union Jack flag. She must have been quite a regal sight.

The Queen and the President were near Massena, NY, to open the canal’s Eisenhower Lock for the ship to pass through. The destroyer HMCS Kootenay and U. S. Army howitzer batteries gave the Queen and the President a number of 21-gun salutes during the dedication. And Vice President Richard Nixon greeted the Queen and Prince in Massena, where 100,000 celebrants were on hand to greet the dignitaries, and to commemorate the Moses-Saunders Dam as well as the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Massena Central High School band played “God Save the Queen” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” as part of the dedication ceremony. Also on hand was New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Also on hand was New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

The Britannia paused off the St. Regis Reservation, as she entered U. S. waters. And she then proceeded up the St. Lawrence River, and on June 28, 1959 passed under the 1000 Island Bridge span in the American Channel. So, she passed by Wellesley Island, Boldt Castle, Grindstone Island, Alexandria Bay, and Clayton, NY. It would have been special to witness her transit through North Country waters. In fact, this cruise of the "Britannia" was making history as this was the first British monarch to visit the North Country.

After passing under the bridge, Queen Elizabeth and the " Britannia " made landfall in Kingston, Ont. The monarch then visited Toronto and Chicago on board the " Britannia ". President Eisenhower was reported to be on board the royal yacht for a portion of the voyage. Everywhere that the Queen visited, she was warmly welcomed by both Canadians and Americans. Only 33 years of age at the time, Queen Elizabeth II was reported to be softly spoken and was known for her elegant dress and manner.

No matter your memory, we know the world joins in the recognition that Queen Elizabeth II was a remarkable monarch with a remarkable reign of 70 years.

Compiled by Susan W. Smith for Volume 17, Issue 9, September 2022.

Posted in: Volume 17, Issue 9, September 2022 , People , Places , History

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The flags flown on Britannia were first specified in Regulations of 1824, confirmed by Order in Council 3 July 1833, but were based on a custom that probably began at the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Charles II returned to England in the Naseby flying, in addition to the usual flags, the anchor flag of the Lord High Admiral (LHA) at the foremast, the Royal Standard at the main, and the Union Jack at the mizzen (mast near the stern). The significance was said to be; Lord High Admiral - I am the source, from which are derived the powers of the Lord High Admiral. Royal Standard - I am Charles. Union Jack - I am King of Britain. At that time it was normal for ships above a certain size to have three masts, but when Britannia was built at least one otherwise unnecessary mast was added, in order that flags could be hoisted at three mastheads. When no member of the royal family was on board, the jack and ensign were worn in the normal fashion whether at sea or in port. I believe the captain of the royal yacht was a commodore, so there was always at least a commodore's broad pennant at the fore mast. When a member of the royal family was on board the jack and ensign were flown night and day, whether in port or at sea. In addition the appropriate flags were flown at the mastheads. There were some interesting combinations when the Queen visited a Commonwealth country, or when the senior member of the royal family was someone other than the Queen. Queen in Jamaica. Lord High Admiral - Jamaican Royal Standard - Jamaican National Flag . Queen in South Africa. Lord High Admiral - Big 'E' - Union Jack Prince Charles. Vice-Admiral's Flag - Prince of Wales Standard - Trinity House Jack . Charles is only a Rear-Admiral, so there must have been a Vice-Admiral on board who out-ranked him. See also our page on the Trinity House Jack for the use of this flag by the Prince of Wales. Duke of Edinburgh. Admiral of the Fleet - Duke of Edinburgh's Standard - ? The Admiral of the Fleet's Flag is a Union Jack; I cannot identify the flag at the mizzen. It is the flag of St George with a yellow emblem in the centre of the cross. David Prothero , 28 March 2003

I saw the same picture and went through the Duke of Edinburgh's listing of positions held (I just don't know how he finds the time!). The things that seemed possibly flag-related were:

• Master & Elder Brother of Trinity House - which would mean he could fly the Trinity House "jack" , but the flag David spotted doesn't appear to be that.
• Captain-General Royal Marines - should have a flag, one would think.
• Admiral, Sea Cadet Corps - possibility? Seems odd to fly this on an RN vessel.

And various appointments in different yacht clubs, including "admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron" - again it would seem odd for these to be on the royal yacht. Joe McMillan , 28 March 2003

I know that Joe put "jack" in inverted commas, but both the master and deputy-master of Trinity House do have their own flags separate from the jack. The master's flag in proportions of 1:2 consists of a Cross of St George on a white field with an 'antique' ship in each canton and a full achievement of arms in the centre. The deputy master's flag is in proportions of 2:3 and instead of the full achievement or arms has a roundel with lion. The jack is in proportions of 4:5 without either arms or roundel. There is also a Red Ensign defaced what is in essence the jack, and a burgee (or cornet). As far as I am aware, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh would only fly the master's flag when he was acting in that capacity, and would more likely to be aboard the Trinity House yacht than on Britannia. Christopher Southworth , 28 March 2003

In 1955 the Admiralty reluctantly agreed that the flag of the Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron, a position held by the Duke of Edinburgh, might be flown at the foremast when he was on board Britannia in certain circumstances. I think that this is a St George's flag with a yellow royal crown in the centre. Presumably when the Duke of Edinburgh became a Flag Officer, his rank flag displaced the Royal Yacht Squadron flag, when worn, to the mizzen.      It is possible that flags of other clubs of which he was admiral have been flown on very special occasions; House of Lords Yacht Club, Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club, Royal Motor Yacht Club, Royal Southern Yacht Club, Royal Naval Sailing Association and Sea Cadet Corps. [Public Record Office ADM 1/26072] David Prothero , 29 March 2003

I have seen a book called Royal Yachts of the World by Tim Madge, and I can confirm that when HRH the Duke of Edinburgh was on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, the follow flags were flown:

Compare this to the flags used by HM the Queen:

• Foremast - Lord High Admiral
• Mainmast - Royal Standard
• Mizzenmast - Union Jack

As an earlier post mentioned, the Union Jack flown by HM at *mizzenmast* is meant to say that 'I am the [Queen] of Britain'. So what does the Union Jack flown by HRH the Duke mean? The foremast of Britannia was apparently reserved for naval rank flags. HM flew the Lord High Admiral flag, and when no Royal was on board, the Commodore broad pennant was flown. HRH the Duke, being the senior male in the Royal family, is by default an admiral of the fleet, a field marshal and a marshal of the RAF. So it's completely logical that he flew the Union Jack at the foremast as an admiral of the fleet. Miles Li , 28 June 2003

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• Dimensions : Height: 50.75 in (128.91 cm) Width: 71.5 in (181.61 cm) Depth: 0.1 in (2.54 mm)
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New national flagship replacing the Royal Yacht Britannia 'to be funded through the Ministry of Defence', says Number 10

The new flagship will replace the Royal Yacht Britannia which was retired in 1997 after 44 years of service.

Political reporter @itssophiemorris

Monday 21 June 2021 17:04, UK

A new national yacht, which is reportedly set to cost £200m, will be paid for out of the Ministry of Defence's budget, Downing Street has confirmed.

The national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will sail the globe hosting trade talks.

The prime minister's official spokesperson said Boris Johnson hopes it will be built in the UK, but that international rules on procurement will be followed.

Mr Johnson announced the commissioning of the new flagship earlier this year , saying it would be used to promote British interests around the world as the UK seeks to build trade links post-Brexit.

The vessel will be part of and crewed by the Royal Navy, the PM said.

"Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British - a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage," he added.

Labour has previously called on the government to set out how the yacht will boost trade and jobs in the UK and to "focus on value for money" with regards to the project.

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Conservative Jake Berry, who is chairman of the Northern Research Group of MPs, has campaigned for the vessel to be built by Cammell Laird on Merseyside.

And at a lobby briefing on Monday, the PM's official spokesperson confirmed the new flagship will be "funded through the Ministry of Defence".

"This new national flagship will boost British trade and drive investment into the economy," he said.

"The procurement process, which is being done through the MoD, will reflect its wide-ranging use and so it will be funded through the MoD, as set out previously."

The PM's official spokesperson declined to comment on where the MoD would find the reported £200m required for the project out of its budget, but did confirm the new vessel will not be a warship.

"We will set out the exact detail in due course but this is a trade ship, it is not a military vessel," he said.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched by The Queen in 1953 and was retired in 1997 after completing 44 years of service.

The new national flagship is expected to be in service for around 30 years.

The yacht's name is yet to be announced, but reports have suggested it will pay homage to the Duke of Edinburgh who was Lord High Admiral from 2011 until his death earlier this year, and served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

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Britannia raises the Coronation flag

The royal yacht britannia in edinburgh prepares for the coronation of their majesties king charles iii and queen camilla by flying the official coronation flag to mark the historic occasion..

The red flag, which is over 3.5 meters wide, will fly from Britannia’s main mast for all to see. 

To further ‘dress’ the ship, Britannia’s Maintenance Team Manager Tony Smith, and his trusted team, hoist Britannia’s maritime signal flags into place, stretching the full length of the ship from bow to stern. The bright maritime flags are used to ‘dress’ the ship in times of celebration. 

On April 16 1953, The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched from John Brown’s Shipyard in Clydebank, Glasgow, to start over 44 years of faithful service to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Royal Family. 

70 years on, Britannia is berthed in Leith, Edinburgh, and welcomes more than 300,000 visitors per year who step aboard to explore this iconic ship and the illustrious role she proudly played in British history. 

King Charles III, then known as Prince of Wales, first stepped aboard Britannia when he was 6 years old in 1954. The Prince of Wales and his sister, Princess Royal, made the maiden voyage on board the brand-new Royal Yacht to Malta to meet their parents, HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, who were in Tobruk on Royal duties. During the next four decades Britannia became one of the most famous ships in the world as it visited over 600 ports in 135 countries, travelling over one million nautical miles. 

All photos Tony Marsh

Phyllis Stephen

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter. Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.

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