HMY Britannia

Over time I've seen many television reports of the Royal Family on the Royal Yacht Britannia on their overseas visits. In particular I remember Diana greeting William and Harry as they arrived on board. 

There has been a Royal Yacht since 1660 during the reign of Charles II. The most recent Royal Yacht  Britannia was launched on 16th April 1953 and decommissioned in 1997. 

During its 44 years of service it has fascilitated Royal tours, welcomed many overseas royals and presidents, hosted banquet dinners, been the venue for Royal honeymoons and in 1986 was part of the evacuation of Yemen.

On Monday H. M. Yacht Britannia welcomed two special guest ... us! 

The tour is amazing covering all levels of the yacht from the Captain's bridge to the boiler room. The detail is superb in all areas, added to by hand held audio guides. 

Starting on the uppermost deck on the bridge my photos show the various rooms of this beautiful vessel. Forward of the funnel the yacht is a working Royal Navy ship whilst in contrast the rear part is a Royal Residence. H. M. Y. Britannia was served by 20 officers and 220 crew, those who served between 14 January 1954 and 11 December 1997 are members of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen known as Yotties.

The Captain's cabin and Officer's dining was very grand with many photographs of the Royal Family on the walls. There was certainly a feeling of pride to be serving on this beautiful yacht. 

On the outer deck was the garage the previous homed the royal car and now houses one of the Duke of Edinburgh's landrovers. The main deck is huge and has hosted many sports events, even a swimming pool. 

The lounge is quite informal on this deck and is where by tradition the yatchtsmen's rum was allocated. Behind the lounge is the Queen's bedroom, the Duke's is identical in layout although they are very different in style, there is door joining the rooms together. The Royal Honeymoon bedroom is also on this deck.

As with the royal bedrooms The Queen and the Duke's offices are identical in size yet different in style and layout. The Queen's two foot desk is central to her office and is where she would have conducted her daily official business. The Duke's desk is at the side of the room, an office he shared with the Prince of Wales.

The stairway is magnificent, it's easy to imagine many royals making their entrance down the sweeping stairs. It leads 8nto the huge state dining room where many dignitaries have dined. The yacht is still used to host events, the table was beautifully laid although I couldn't see my placename anywhere.

Following on from the grand dining room is the formal lounge, large enough for everyone to relax together. The piano is securely bolted to the floor, a reminder that although a beautiful setting life on a yacht however Royal can be choppy at times.

Serving life was very different with obvious levels of rank. It was so interesting to see how the yacht was run, so many working areas but social rooms too for each section of yachtsmen. It was so funny to see the flying wombat, part of the fun and games in one of the bars!

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The living quarters certainly reduced in size as we went further down the decks. It was very cosy in places but always had an air of fun. There were separate bar area depending on rank with officers bars having spirits as well as beer, there was always a yard of ale glass though!

The mail room was tiny, hard to imagine life without our modern communications. There was even a sick bay and operating theatre (my Dad served in the sick bay in the Royal Navy so it was very interesting to see this room). 

I was amazed at the size of the laundry room, obviously needed to keep uniforms in immaculate condition, especially those of the Band of the Royal Marines. The body press did make me chuckle.

Our final deck to visit was the engine room, all immaculate and gleaming. This was not for show but was actually how it was kept during it's working life. It really was the working part of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

I did have to pinch myself that we were walking the same decks and through the same rooms that have hosted Royal events. Although a royal residence it felt so homely, I do feel that the Royal Family try to separate dury and family time. 

It was a real treat to enjoy a cream scone with coffee whilst on board. Whilst it is sad the yacht is no longer in service it is super that it is open for all to see, we certainly had a fantastic visit.