Inside the historic Royal Yacht Britannia
A right royal vessel

The last of a long legacy

When the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh disembarked Britannia for the last time at a decommissioning ceremony in Portsmouth in 1997, it ended a tradition that dated back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II. Britannia was the last of the 83 different British Royal Yachts owned by the monarchy.
The launch party

Commissioned by King George VI on 4 February 1952 (sadly, he didn't get to see her built as he died just two days later), the 412-foot-long vessel, which served the Royal family for 44 years in total, began her illustrious career in the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank. She was launched into the water from here on 16 April 1953. Around 30,000 people went along to the launch ceremony to hear the Queen say: "I name this ship Britannia." Champagne was considered too extravagant in post-war times so the Queen smashed a bottle of Empire wine instead.
Hidden treasure

Official excursions

A hospital ship

A legacy of Elizabeth II's reign

A feat of engineering

The bridge

The crew

A ship of two halves

State visits

Historic meetings

Entertaining in style

Fine dining

Banquets were a serious affair where absolute attention to detail was required by the crew: it took three hours to set the 56 places for a state banquet. Not surprising really, considering the position of every knife, fork and spoon was meticulously measured with a ruler. Menus, which were printed in French (naturellement) before Britannia set sail, were given to guests as a souvenir. Whenever the royal family was on board chefs were flown out from Buckingham Palace to prepare their food.
Defining moments in history

A private residence

Summer cruise to Scotland

Relaxed protocol

Love boat

Final voyage

All of the clocks on Britannia were stopped at 15:01 on 20 October 1997 when the Queen was piped ashore for the last time. The decommissioning ceremony saw the Queen shed a rare tear in public as she bid the yacht she was immensely fond of farewell. Since 1998, Britannia has been berthed in Leith, Scotland, and is open to the public as a museum.
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