Royal Yacht Britannia

Saturday 14th March,  my last day in Edinburgh and unbeknown to me at the time but this would be my last trip for some time to come.  I decided to go  out to Leith harbour to see the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Royal Yacht was launched in 1953 and was decommissioned in 1997 due to cut backs in government funds. This is the 83rd Royal Yacht, the first was launched in 1660.

The yacht is moored in the harbour but is accessed via the upper floor of a shopping centre which seemed quite strange. I was there , just as it opened, hoping to avoid any crowds. I needn't have worried as it was very quiet. We have now been told to keep a safe distance away from others. As there was hardly anyone else on the bus out to the harbour and no queue to get onto the Britannia I was happy to continue with my plan.

These flags are used to signal to others the ship's state and intentions. They are also used for ceremonial purposes, such as dressing ship.

 

The bridge or wheelhouse. You couldn't enter this part of the ship  but there was a good view through the window.

 During its 40 years serving the Royal family it sailed more than 1 million miles. 

This is a photograph of the Britannia as it passed through the Thames Barrier on the River Thames for the last time in 1997. I remember the occasion well as I had been asked to take a class of children to the barrier to witness the event. There were bands playing and flags flying. I did take photos but I have no idea what I did with them.

I think this was the commodore or captain's dining room.

The Commodore's pantry.

The Commodore's bedroom and bathroom. The commodore is above the rank of captain but below that of rear admiral.

It is not a large ship at 125m long but it had a crew of 240 including a Royal Marine band. The band players had other duties as well as their ceremonial ones. There was an additional 45 household staff when the Royal family were onboard.

Although not a large ship it had space to park a vehicle. In the early days they used to take a Phantom Rolls Royce for ceremonial Royal visits  but in more recent years this wasn't necessary as a suitable car could be found wherever she travelled.

Photos of the sailors getting the Land Rover onto the ship.

The upper deck where the young royals used to play deck games with the sailors.

On the upper deck were the royal quarters.

A sun lounge.

The Queen's bedroom.

The adjoining room was the Duke of Edinburgh's bedroom.

The honeymoon suite. In 1960 Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones were the first royal honeymooners to enjoy the privacy provided by Britannia on a 6000 mile journey to the Caribbean. Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips; Prince Charles and Princess Diana and finally the Duke and Duchess of York also honeymooned on the Yacht. However, it didn't bring them much luck as all those marriages ended in divorce.

Above the royal quarters there now is a tea room. It was almost empty so I decided to have a sit down and enjoy some tea and cake.

The port holes outside the royal apartments were higher than usual so as not to be at eye level.

The Queen's office.

The state dining room.





China and silver used for the official meals.

The Royal sitting room

The sergeant's mess

The ratings quarters.

WO (Warrant Officer) and CPO (Chief Petty Officer)

CPO's cabins

Sick Bay

Laundry room

The engine room was immaculate. Apparently it always looked spick and span.

I very much enjoyed my visit and tour of the Royal Yacht especially as there were only a couple of other people looking around.

The following day I travelled back to Leeds where I had left my car at my son and dil's house. The plan was to drive from Leeds to Manchester to stay with  friends L and S. From there we had  planned to do some walking in the Lake District as S and myself  would be joining the 4 other members of the group to start our long distance walk around Norfolk in a few week's time. However, in the short time I had been in Scotland there had been a dramatic rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. Discussing the situation with my son we decided it wouldn't be wise for me to travel to Manchester. My son wanted me to stay with them until the worst was over but I knew I needed to go home to London and probably stay with my daughter as she would need to be in isolation and be shielded from the virus. The next day I sadly sad goodbye to my son and dil, not knowing when we would be able to get together again and drove back to London.