Britannia was designed with three masts, a 412-foot (126 m) length, a 55-foot (17 m) beam, and a 15-foot (4.6 m) draught. It had a tonnage of 5,769 gross tons, and a speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h). It was powered by two Pametrada steam turbines, and had a range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km). It could accommodate 250 guests and 21 officers and 250 Royal Yachtsmen as crew. It also had a detachment of Royal Marines and a contingent of Royal Marines Band members on board.
Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, although this capability was never used. In the event of a nuclear war, it was intended for the Queen and Prince Philip to take refuge aboard Britannia off the north-west coast of Scotland.
Britannia served the Queen and her family for 44 years, and was used for official visits, state occasions, diplomatic receptions, royal holidays, and honeymoons. Some of the most notable events that took place on board Britannia include:
- The signing of the first trade agreement between the UK and China in 1974.
- The evacuation of British nationals from Aden during the Aden Emergency in 1967.
- The hosting of US Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
- The celebration of the Queen’s Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012.
- The honeymoon of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986.
Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997, in a ceremony attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and 12 members of the royal family. The Queen shed a tear as she bid farewell to her beloved yacht, which was the last in a long tradition of British royal yachts dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II.
The Royal Yacht Britannia as a Visitor Attraction
Since 1998, Britannia has been berthed permanently at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it is a visitor attraction and a charity. It is owned and operated by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, which aims to conserve and display the ship for the benefit of the public. Britannia attracts over 300,000 visitors each year, and has been voted as the UK’s No. 1 attraction by TripAdvisor in 2020.
