What Happened To The Queens Yacht?

Her Majestys Yacht Britannia, the former royal yacht of the British monarchy, served the Royal Family from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660 and was the second royal yacht to bear the name. The first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales.

In ‘The Crown, Queen Elizabeth described the yacht as a floating, seagoing version of herself. The yacht did execute a humanitarian mission in 1986, sailing to Aden to evacuate over 1,000 refugees from Hong Kong. Its final voyage abroad was to Hong Kong in 1997, when the territory was handed back to China. A few months later, the yacht undertook a farewell tour of Britain, calling at six major ports across the UK, including Glasgow.

In Season five of The Crown, the fictional Queen all-but-demanding a new Royal Yacht from then-Prime Minister John Major, the luxurious yacht was a mainstay. On 23 June 1994, the John Majors Government announced that there would be no refit for HMY Britannia as the costs would be too great. After a long and successful career spanning 44 years and travelling over 1 million nautical miles, it was announced that the last Royal Yacht was to be decommissioned.

Now permanently docked at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britannia is a visitor attraction with over 300,000 visits each year. Members of the public can visit the marvelous yacht as well as the racing yacht, Bloodhound, once owned by the Queen and Prince Philip.

On December 11, 1997, the Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned at a ceremony in Portsmouth, England, with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and all of their children in attendance. The yacht, now docked in Leith, Scotland, is open to the public as a museum and events space.

The Queen was more emotional and upset over the Royal Yacht Britannia than she was when her daughter-in-law and the mother of the future king was killed in a car wreck at age 36. Three years later, the vessel embarked on its final voyage – a farewell tour around the UK.

What happened to Queen Victoria yacht?

HMY Victoria and Albert was a royal yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The yacht was designed by the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy Sir William White, launched in 1899 and ready for service in 1901. This was the third yacht to be named Victoria and Albert and she was fitted with steam engines fired by Belleville water-tube boilers. She served four sovereigns, and was decommissioned as royal yacht in 1939, served in the Second World War, and was broken up in 1954.

Queen Victoria had lobbied Parliament for many years for a more modern yacht to replace the previous HMYVictoria and Albert, winning this expenditure after pointing out that both the Russian Tsar and the German Kaiser had larger and more modern yachts than Great Britain.

The yacht was launched at Pembroke Dockyard 9 May 1899 by the Duchess of York. She was completed in the summer 1901, seven months after the death of Queen Victoria. The total cost of the ship was £572,000, five-sevenths the cost of the battleship HMSRenown.

Who bought the Queen’s yacht?

HMY BritanniaHistoryUnited KingdomNameBritanniaOwnerThe Royal Yacht Britannia TrustOrdered5 February 1952.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Britannia.

Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. She was in their service from 1954 until 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the world to more than 600 ports in 135 countries. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it is a visitor attraction with over 300,000 visits each year.

HMY Britannia was built at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire. She was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953, and commissioned on 11 January 1954. The ship was designed with three masts: a 133-foot (41m) foremast, a 139-foot (42m) mainmast, and a 118-foot (36m) mizzenmast. The top aerial on the foremast and the top 20 feet (6.1m) of the mainmast were hinged to allow the ship to pass under bridges.

Does Queen Elizabeth still have a yacht?

Since 1998, following a successful national tender process, Britannia has been berthed permanently at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh. There are currently no British royal yachts, although MV Hebridean Princess and MY Leander G have both been used by the royal family.

Data about launch years from Royal Yachts of the World by Tim Madge.

• Mary (1660–1675)
• Royal Escape (dates unknown)
• Anne (1661–unknown)
• Bezan (1661–unknown)
• Katherine (first ship of that name) (1661–unknown): built by Phineas Pett
• Minion (dates unknown)
• Charles (first ship of that name) (1662–unknown)
• Jamie or Jemmy (1662–unknown)
• Henrietta (first ship of that name) (1663–unknown)
• Merlin* (1666–unknown)
• Monmouth (1666–unknown)
• Navy (1666–unknown)
• Saudadoes (1670–unknown)
• Cleveland (1671–unknown)
• Queenborough (first ship of that name) (1671–unknown)
• Deale (1673–unknown)
• Isle of Wight (1673–unknown)
• Kitchen (1670–unknown)
• Katherine (second ship of that name) (1674–unknown)
• Portsmouth (first ship of that name) (1674–unknown)
• Charles (second ship of that name) (1675–unknown); Charlot (1677–unknown); Mary (second ship of that name) (1677–unknown); Henrietta (second ship of that name) (1679–unknown); Izabella Bezan (1680–unknown); Fubbs (1682–unknown); Isabella (first ship of that name) (1680–unknown); William & Mary (first ship of that name) (1694–unknown); Squirrel (1694–unknown); Scout (1695–unknown); Queenborough (second ship of that name) (1701–unknown); Soesdyke (1702–unknown); Portsmouth (second ship of that name) (1702–unknown); Isabella (1703–unknown); Drake (1705–unknown)

Why was the Britannia yacht decommissioned?

It was John Major’s conservative government that first suggested scrapping the Britannia. In the run up to the 1997 election it became their re-election policy to decommission her due to high running costs (she was the only steam powered RN vessel) and the cost of a much needed refit proposed for later that year.

Can the Royal Yacht Britannia still sail?

Now retired from Royal Service, Britannia is permanently docked at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Britannia is no longer in service to the Royal Family. It was decommissioned in 1997, after it was decided that the yacht was simply too expensive to maintain and run.

Why didn’t the royal family pay for Britannia?

The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost 5.8 million pounds, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.

However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain’s 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried—one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.

Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project—showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.

Why couldn’t the royal family pay for Britannia?

Because the royal yacht wasn’t theirs, it did not belong to them, it belonged to the nation. It was not their property. This is the same reason why they won’t spend their own money for repairs at Buckingham Palace, but will at Sandringham.

Do the Royals have their own yacht?

The United Kingdom has had 83 royal yachts since the restoration of Charles II of England in 1660. Charles II himself had 25 royal yachts, while five were simultaneously in service in 1831. Since the decommissioning of Britannia in 1997 the British monarchy no longer has a royal yacht.

The Principality of Monaco owned the princely yacht Deo Juvante II between 1956–1958. This Camper and Nicholsons yacht was a wedding gift from Aristotle Onassis to Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly and was used on their honeymoon. The yacht, now called M/Y Grace, is now owned and operated by Quasar Expeditions.

Yugoslavia had some royal yachts before World War II (most notably, one was a sister ship of Ilinden which sank in Lake Ohrid in 2009).

Why didn’t the Royal Family pay for Britannia?

The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost 5.8 million pounds, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.

However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain’s 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried—one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.

Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project—showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.

Why did the Queen lose Britannia?

A further refit at an estimated cost of some £17 million would be necessary in 1996–97 but would only prolong her life for a further five years. In view of her age, even after the refit she would be difficult to maintain and expensive to run. It has therefore been decided to decommission ‘Britannia’ in 1997.

In looking back at the history of Royal Yacht Britannia, one can trace the emotional journey of Queen Elizabeth II. Her affection for the vessel stemmed from deep-rooted sentiment, making HMY Britannia’s retirement remarkably personal.

June 23, 1994, was a dark day for Queen Elizabeth II.

While public perception of Her Majesty’s lifestyle revolved around lavish wealth and exclusive travel, of which money was no object, that generalised consensus remained far from the truth.

How many yachts does the Queen have?

The United Kingdom has had 83 royal yachts since the restoration of Charles II of England in 1660. Charles II himself had 25 royal yachts, while five were simultaneously in service in 1831. Since the decommissioning of Britannia in 1997 the British monarchy no longer has a royal yacht.

The Principality of Monaco owned the princely yacht Deo Juvante II between 1956–1958. This Camper and Nicholsons yacht was a wedding gift from Aristotle Onassis to Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly and was used on their honeymoon. The yacht, now called M/Y Grace, is now owned and operated by Quasar Expeditions.

Yugoslavia had some royal yachts before World War II (most notably, one was a sister ship of Ilinden which sank in Lake Ohrid in 2009).

Was Britannia repaired?

The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost 5.8 million pounds, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.

However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain’s 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried—one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.

Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project—showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.