The ship was also equipped with various features that made it suitable for royal service, such as:
- A state drawing room, a state dining room, a sun lounge, a veranda deck, and a royal deck tea room for entertaining guests and holding receptions
- A royal suite, consisting of separate bedrooms for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, a dressing room, a sitting room, and a private sun deck
- A royal household, comprising the offices and quarters of the royal staff, such as the private secretary, the equerry, the ladies-in-waiting, the press officer, and the chef
- A sick bay, a dentist’s surgery, a cinema, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a laundry, a garage, and a post office for the convenience and comfort of the royals and the crew
- A helicopter landing platform, a sailboat davit, and a motorboat crane for transporting the royals and their guests to and from the ship
- A hidden compartment, containing a set of lead-lined boxes that could store the royal jewels in case of emergency
- A capability to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, although this was never used
- A contingency plan to serve as a refuge for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the event of a nuclear war, although this was also never used.
What is the history of the Royal Yacht Britannia?
The Royal Yacht Britannia had a long and distinguished history of serving the British monarchy and representing the United Kingdom around the world. It was involved in many significant events and occasions, such as:
- The Commonwealth tour of 1953-1954, when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited 13 countries and 36 ports in six months, covering over 40,000 miles.
- The Suez Canal crisis of 1956, when the ship evacuated the British High Commissioner and his staff from Egypt.
- The first royal visit to the Soviet Union in 1973, when the ship carried the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Leningrad and Moscow, where they met with President Leonid Brezhnev and other Soviet leaders.
- The Silver Jubilee of 1977, when the ship led a flotilla of over 160 vessels along the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Queen’s 25th anniversary on the throne.
- The handover of Hong Kong in 1997, when the ship carried the Prince of Wales, the Governor of Hong Kong, and other British officials to the ceremony that marked the end of British rule and the transfer of sovereignty to China.
The ship also hosted many famous and influential people, such as:
- Winston Churchill, who sailed on the ship to the funeral of King George VI in 1952, and to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev, who were entertained by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on board the ship during their visits to the United Kingdom in 1959 and 1960, respectively.
- Nelson Mandela, who was welcomed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on board the ship during his state visit to the United Kingdom in 1996.
- Princess Diana, who joined the royal family on several occasions on board the ship, such as the honeymoon of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981, and the royal tour of Italy in 1985.
- The Beatles, who received their MBEs from the Queen on board the ship in 1965, and later performed a concert for the royal family and the crew.
The ship also witnessed many personal and intimate moments of the royal family, such as:
- The birth of Prince Andrew in 1960, who was the first child born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria.
- The wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, who spent their honeymoon on board the ship.
- The funeral of Lord Mountbatten in 1979, who was killed by an IRA bomb on his boat in Ireland. The ship carried his coffin and his family to the funeral service in Westminster Abbey.
- The divorce of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1996, who had their final meeting on board the ship before announcing their separation.
The ship was decommissioned on 11 December 1997, after 43 years of service. The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the royal family attended a farewell ceremony in Portsmouth, where the Queen shed a tear as she said goodbye to the ship.
A Brief History of the Royal Yacht Britannia
The Royal Yacht Britannia was the 83rd royal yacht of the British monarchy, and the second one to bear the name. The first Britannia was a racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. The current Britannia was built at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, and launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953. It was commissioned on 11 January 1954, and sailed on its maiden voyage from Portsmouth to Malta, where it carried Prince Charles and Princess Anne to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the end of their Commonwealth tour.
