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55-530: Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy . She was in their service from 1954-97. 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

110-404: A drinks reception was held on board Britannia for Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara Phillips and her then fiancé, Mike Tindall , to celebrate their forthcoming wedding. An early Land Rover in much-restored shape is displayed in the on-board garage and a retired Rolls-Royce Phantom V state car is parked on the wharf below the ship. The tour of the five decks open to the public includes

165-658: A hospital ship. In the event of nuclear war , it was intended for the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , to take refuge aboard Britannia off the north-west coast of Scotland. Royal Navy officers were appointed for up to two years. The crew were volunteers from the general service of the Royal Navy. After 365 days' service, they could be admitted to the Permanent Royal Yacht Service as Royal Yachtsmen and serve until they chose to leave

220-663: A redevelopment of the harbour area and the advent of Scottish devolution . Entrance to the yacht is via the Ocean Terminal development, and over 300,000 people visit the Royal Yacht Britannia every year. She is one of the UK's top evening events venues. On 18 May 2006, the Swiss-born Hollywood actress and first Bond girl , Ursula Andress , celebrated her 70th birthday on board. On 29 July 2011,

275-552: Is now berthed alongside Britannia . Bloodhound was one of the most successful ocean-racing yachts ever built and was the yacht on which King Charles III and the Princess Royal learned to sail. The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust bought Bloodhound in early 2010 and she is the centrepiece of an exhibition focusing on the Royal Family's passion for sailing. Visitors can view Bloodhound from a specially built pontoon when

330-616: Is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world. Having started in 1826, the event is held in August each year on the Solent (the area of water between southern England and the Isle of Wight made tricky by strong double tides), and is run by Cowes Week Limited in the small town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Cowes Week is held at the beginning of August, set after Glorious Goodwood in

385-507: Is usually IRC Class 0 or IRC Class 1. The Young Skipper's Trophy is awarded to the Skipper, aged under 25 on the Sunday immediately after the event, who achieves the best results over the course of the entire Week. The competition is open to young skippers across all classes. The Trophy was first presented by Skandia at the 1995 event and recognises the success of the yachtsmen and women of

440-475: The Anglo-Zanzibar War . Other nations that employ some form of yacht presently or in the past include China and Sarawak . Cowes Week Cowes Week ( / k aʊ z / KOWZ ) is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily sailing races, around 500 boats, and 2500 competitors ranging from Olympic and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, it

495-668: The Britannia at the Albert Dock Basin.  The Fingal is a former Northern Lighthouse Board ship converted into a boutique hotel owned by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. Proposals for the construction of a new royal yacht, perhaps financed through a loan or by the royal family's own funds, have made little headway. In December 2019 it was reported that the late Sir Donald Gosling donated £50 million in his will to pay for it. In May 2021, it

550-516: The Conservative government announced the yacht's retirement: The yacht last underwent a major refit in 1987. 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. The Government will now consider

605-749: The National Historic Fleet , Britannia is a visitor attraction moored in the historic Port of Leith in Edinburgh , Scotland, and is cared for by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, a registered charity. There was some controversy over the siting of the ship, with some arguing that she would be better moored on the River Clyde , where she was built, than in Edinburgh, with which the yacht had few links. Her positioning in Leith coincided with

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660-550: The social calendar , which in most years means from the first Saturday after the last Tuesday in July, until the following Friday. It is occasionally moved to another week if the state of the tides in the normal week is unfavourable or, as in 2012, to avoid a clash with the Olympic Games. The regatta was famous for its fireworks on the final Friday, however there has not been a display since 2019. The display had taken place on

715-642: The Admiral's Cup. In some ways the Admiral's Cup was an extension of the N.Y.Y.C. Cup in that Miles Wyatt and four friends presented this overall trophy to encourage overseas yachts to race at Cowes. Latifa, owned by Michael Mason, first won the Cup in 1951. The New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup is awarded to the winner of the class nominated by the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Wednesday of the event, this

770-592: The Fastnet rock far out in the Atlantic and can be dangerous, is held in odd-numbered years only. In the decades following World War II, yachting moved away from its image as a rich man's sport to one which is enjoyed by many today in modest self-skippered 30 to 40 foot yachts. The attraction of Cowes Week has also given life to many water-based activities and sailing schools promoting the sport of sailing to all age groups and walks of life. Although certain functions in

825-457: The Ministry of Defence have to justify every penny of the taxpayers' money that we spend and in this case I could not do so, particularly – as the Queen has made clear – since a Yacht is not needed for Royal travel. We considered in detail all private finance options, but these would only have been viable with a substantial annual subsidy from public funds. The Royal Yacht's final foreign mission

880-529: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the end of the royal couple's Commonwealth tour. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh embarked on Britannia for the first time in Tobruk on 1 May 1954. On 20 July 1959, Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway en route from Canada to Chicago , where she docked, making the Queen the first British monarch to visit the city. U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower

935-415: The Queen's bedroom, which can be viewed behind a glass wall, and the state dining and drawing rooms, which hosted grand receptions for kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers throughout the world. The clocks on board are stopped at 3:01, the time that the Queen last disembarked. The royal deck tea room was added in 2009. The 1936 racing yacht Bloodhound , once owned by the Queen and Prince Philip,

990-584: The Tudor period with Henry VIII using a vessel in 1520 that was depicted as having cloth of gold sails. James I had Disdain , a ship in miniature (she was later recorded as being able to carry about 30 tons), built for his son Prince Henry. Disdain was significant in that she allowed for pleasure cruising and as a result can be seen as an early move away from royal ships as warships. The first ships to unquestionably qualify as royal yachts were those owned by Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland . The first

1045-661: The Tuesday of the event, this is usually IRC Class 0 or IRC Class 1. The New York Yacht Club Challenge Cup was presented by the New York Yacht Club in 1951 on 100th Anniversary of America's victory which led to the commencement of the America's Cup. It was presented to the Royal Yacht Squadron for races during Cowes Week Class 1. In 1957, with the advent of the Admiral's Cup , points won in this race counted towards

1100-612: The United Arab Emirates . Completed in 2006, she is the third largest yacht currently in service at 524 feet (160 m) long. She came to world media attention when she sailed out to welcome the retired ocean liner , Queen Elizabeth 2 to Dubai in November 2008. Another personal yacht of the Sheikh is the 40-metre (130 ft) Alloya , built by Sanlorenzo in 2013. The United Kingdom has had 83 royal yachts since

1155-544: The cost was justified by its role in foreign policy and promoting British interests abroad, particularly through conferences held by British Invisibles , formerly the Committee on Invisible Exports. It was estimated by the Overseas Trade Board that events held on board the yacht helped raise £3 billion for HM Treasury between 1991 and 1995 alone. The Labour opposition announced it would not commit

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1210-623: The end of the Cowes Week event, a fireworks display is held. This has occurred for more than 150 years. In recent years contributions to the funding of the display have been requested by the community who enjoy and benefit from them. In 2012 Mrs Gillian Smith became the first female Principal Race Officer to oversee the racing. The Queen's Cup was presented to the Royal Southampton Yacht Club by Queen Victoria in 1897, her Diamond Jubilee year. Eleven boats entered

1265-689: The existence of the German Empire , the Kaiser used these imperial yachts: The Kriegsmarine fleet tender Grille was built as a state yacht for Adolf Hitler . King Hussein of Jordan was aboard his royal yacht (name not reported) in the Gulf of Aqaba when on 7 June 1981 it was overflown by eight low-flying Israeli F-16s en route to attack the Osirak reactor in Iraq during Operation Opera . One of

1320-427: The final Friday of the event since the early days and was an iconic finale. Typically Cowes Week up to forty starts a day for classes of cruiser-racers, one designs and keelboats; around 500 boats and 2,500 competitors take part. During this time the Solent , which is a busy commercial waterway, is filled with boats of all classes and is particularly colourful due to the spinnakers (the large rounded sail hoisted at

1375-467: The first Queen's Cup race on 9 August 1897. It was won by Latana, a 165-ton yawl owned by Mr W M Johnstone, by far the biggest boat in the race. The Cup was subsequently raced for on the opening day of Cowes Week but, shortly after the turn of the 20th century, it was mysteriously lost. Re-discovered in 1937 in a second-hand shop in Cardiff by a club member, Captain "Jonah" Jones, the Cup was bought back for

1430-476: The following major vessels from Muscat and Muttrah in Oman : The Imperial Ottoman Government used many yachts for its head of state. These include: The Republic of Turkey also has presidential yachts The Portuguese King Charles I used four successive royal yachts, all named Amélia , after his wife, Queen Amélie of Orleans . These yachts were, mainly, used by Charles I for his oceanographic missions. It

1485-429: The front of a yacht when running downwind). The different classes of boats are split into either White Group (dayboats) and Black Group (larger boats with cabins). As well as the sailing activities, the week includes a large number of onshore events including live music and cocktail parties. Marquees are erected in the marinas serving food and drink, and the crowds overflow from busy public houses and restaurants around

1540-405: The future. The overall winner of Cowes Week is awarded with a special Scottish quaich Overall Winner Trophy The Overall Winner Trophy is awarded to the winner of either Black Group or White Group, determined by the overall winner on points. French painter Raoul Dufy has depicted the races and Royal Yacht Squadron in several works of the late 1920s and early '30s, the most famous one of which

1595-462: The narrow high street – the town becomes a hive of activity into the early hours of each morning. Around 100,000 visitors are attracted to Cowes by the festival atmosphere of the event each year in addition to all the competitors. From 1995 to 2008 its official title was Skandia Cowes Week, named after title sponsor Skandia the Swedish financial services group. From 2011 to 2016 its official title

1650-551: The need came in the Falklands War this capability was exposed as being spurious as HMY Britannia, unique among the Royal Navy's fleet, required special fuel oil (unique to her) and had only a 200-bed capacity. Instead, the 16,907-gross-register-ton (47,880 m3) P&O liner SS Uganda, which was in the Mediterranean on an educational cruise with a thousand schoolchildren on board, was requisitioned, and modified to become

1705-512: The pilots described it as 'stunning white... incredible'. King Haakon VII received the royal yacht Norge as a gift from the people of Norway in 1947. The royal yacht is owned by the king but maintained and crewed by the Royal Norwegian Navy . Before this other naval ships had served as royal sea transport and the king used some smaller boats for short trips mostly on official occasions. The Oman Royal Yacht Squadron operates

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1760-536: The princely sum of £35. The Queen's Cup has traditionally been awarded by the RSY. to the IRC Class 0 winner racing on the first Saturday of the event. In 1950, Sir Peter Scott suggested to King George VI that larger yachts should compete for a new trophy as it was felt that the America's Cup could not be restarted after the war. It was time for another competition of international significance to be introduced. King George

1815-580: The prize of a "Gold Cup of the value of £100" and was held under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club, which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron . Another race was held the next day for prize money only (£30 for first place, £20 for second). Until World War I , big cutters and raters were raced by gentlemen amateurs employing skippers and crew. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were cruiser handicap classes and local one-designs (although

1870-470: The question of whether to replace "Britannia". In January 1997, the government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if reelected. The timing of the announcement, close to a general election , was controversial; The Guardian Weekly called it "part of a populist appeal to wavering Tory voters in the run-up to the general election" and reported that the Queen was "furious" that the Royal Family

1925-682: The racing yacht is in port. During July and August, she is berthed in Oban marina and is available for private charter, as she sails around the islands once visited by the Royal Family during their annual fortnight holiday in the Western Isles of Scotland. During this period, Royal Yachtsmen (Yotties) from Britannia' s original crew sail the yacht for the Britannia Trust. From 2019, the MV Fingal has been permanently berthed near to

1980-508: 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

2035-588: The result that there are only three royal yachts left in use in Europe . For the most part royal yachts have been superseded by the use of warships in this role, as royal yachts are often seen as a hard-to-justify expenditure. In addition most monarchies with a railway system employ a special set of ceremonial royal carriages . Most monarchies are also granted access to government owned aircraft for transportation. The Danish royal family have had several royal yachts. Two of them have been named Dannebrog . During

2090-503: The service or were dismissed for medical or disciplinary reasons. As a result, some served for 20 years or more. The crew also included a detachment of Royal Marines . A contingent of Royal Marines Band members embarked whenever Britannia was on duty away from home port. Britannia sailed on her maiden voyage from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour , Malta , departing on 14 April and arriving on 22 April 1954. She carried Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta in order for them to meet

2145-687: The ship after the Duke of Edinburgh were not well-received amongst royal sources, and these plans had subsequently been "abandoned". By 2022 plans had progressed to two favoured design teams. It was reported in October 2022 that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was planning to scrap plans for a new yacht as part of a package of spending cuts. 55°58′56″N 3°10′38″W  /  55.98216°N 3.17729°W  / 55.98216; -3.17729 Royal yacht Some royal yachts have been small vessels only used for short trips on rivers or in calm waters, but others have been large seaworthy ships. Depending on how

2200-419: The six to eight and twelve metre classes attracted the most racing interest). Following World War II , when there was a revival of big yacht racing , ocean racing classes started to predominate, especially after the first Admiral's Cup event was held in 1957 and the growth in popularity of the two ocean-going races that start and finish the regatta The Channel and the Fastnet . The Fastnet , which rounds

2255-664: The term is defined royal yachts date back to the days of antiquity with royal barges on the Nile in ancient Egypt. Later the Vikings produced royal vessels. They followed the pattern of longships although highly decorated and fitted with purple sails (purple sails remained standard for royal vessels the next 400 years). In England, Henry V sold off the royal yachts to clear the Crown's debts. The next royal vessels in England were built in

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2310-465: The use of public funds for a replacement vessel for at least the first two years of any new Labour government. After its election victory in May 1997, the new government considered multiple options for the future of a royal yacht, but concluded in October of that year that Britannia would not be replaced: We made clear that we would not spend public money on a Royal Yacht and I am keeping that promise. We in

2365-505: The week are still the preserve of the elite or members-only clubs, Cowes Week encompasses a wide range of events and attractions open to the public, marketed to a very diverse range of interests. Key shoreside events of Cowes Week include the festivities within Cowes Yacht Haven, on Cowes Parade and at Shepards Wharf Marina. Each of these venues offer entertainment for the general public as well as those racing. Traditionally at

2420-512: 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

2475-409: Was "dragged into the centre of the election campaign, just as it is fighting to restore its public image." Sir Edward Heath publicly objected to the government's handling of the issue, stating "The Conservative Party above all must be an honourable party. And I don't believe the actions that have been taken are honourable ones and should never have been taken in this way." The government argued that

2530-535: Was Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, named after the title sponsor. For 2017 and 2018 the event was known as Lendy Cowes Week, after Lendy Limited took over title sponsorship. In 2019, Lendy ceased to be title sponsors. Other supporters include Communications Sponsor aql . The festival originates from the Prince Regent's interest in yachting which continued after he became George IV in 1820. The first race started at 09:30 on Thursday 10 August 1826 with

2585-594: Was aboard Britannia for part of this cruise; Presidents Gerald Ford , Ronald Reagan , and Bill Clinton were welcomed aboard in later years. Anne and Mark Phillips took their honeymoon cruise aboard the ship in 1973; Charles would do the same with Diana in 1981. The ship evacuated over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Aden in 1986. The vessel sailed to Canada in 1991 and made a port of call in Toronto and Kingston, Ontario . HMY Britannia , when on royal duties,

2640-410: Was designed with three masts: a 133-foot (41 m) foremast, a 139-foot (42 m) mainmast, and a 118-foot (36 m) mizzenmast. The top aerial on the foremast and the top 20 feet (6.1 m) of the mainmast were hinged to allow the ship to pass under bridges. Britannia it was claimed (as justification for the cost) was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, however when

2695-563: Was escorted by a Royal Navy warship. The yacht was a regular sight at Cowes Week in early August and, usually, for the remainder of the month, was home to the Queen and her family for an annual cruise around the islands off the west coast of Scotland (known as the "Western Isles Tour"). During her career as Royal Yacht, Britannia conveyed the Queen, other members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on 696 foreign visits and 272 visits in British waters. In this time, Britannia steamed 1,087,623 nautical miles (2,014,278 km). In 1994,

2750-514: Was gift from the Dutch but later yachts were commissioned and built in England. This established a tradition of royal yachts in Britain that was later copied by other royal families of Europe. Through the 19th century royal yachts got larger as they became a symbol of national wealth. World War I brought this trend to an end and the royal families that survived found it harder to justify the cost with

2805-493: Was in favour and presented a trophy to the Royal Yachting Association, naming it The Britannia Cup . It certainly acted as a stimulus to big boat racing after the war. This competition also gave points towards the Admiral's Cup. The Britannia Cup was first won in 1951 by Taisser IV and Group Captain R J S Barton. The Britannia Cup is awarded to the winner of the class nominated by the Royal Yacht Squadron on

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2860-735: Was in the Amélia IV that King Manuel II and the Portuguese royal family left the country for the exile, after the republican revolution of 5 October 1910. In the republican regime the Amélia IV was renamed NRP 5 de Outubro and operated by the Portuguese Navy . Imperial yachts employed by the Tsar of Russia : Dubai is the personal yacht of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of

2915-406: Was reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson would announce the construction of a new royal yacht, named after Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , "within weeks". On 29 May, Johnson announced that the "new national flagship" – a ship rather than a luxury yacht – would enter service within the next four years and cost up to £200 million. The following day it was reported that government plans to name

2970-533: Was to convey the last Governor of Hong Kong , Chris Patten , and the Prince of Wales back from Hong Kong after its handover to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997. The Queen, normally undemonstrative in public, was reported to have cried at the decommissioning ceremony that was attended by most of the senior members of the Royal Family. Listed as part of

3025-462: 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 ). Zanzibar had only one naval ship in 1896, the royal yacht HHS  Glasgow . It was sunk by the British during the shortest war in history,

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