The original meaning of the word Yacht is ‘a vessel of state used to convey princes from one kingdom to another’. As such the British royal family have had yachts since the Restoration, Charles II and the Duke of York being keen recreational sailors. The Hanoverian kings also had yachts and Victoria and Albert used theirs extensively to travel round the kingdom. By the 1930s the royal yacht was used for domestic travel and naval frigates or liners requisitioned for overseas tours.
Britannia had its birth partly in the need to provide suitable transport round the remains of Empire and the emerging Commonwealth, and partly to provide a means of giving the ailing King George VI fresh sea air. As plans were laid for a new ship in 1951 the king and queen emphasised that economy was vital but the king died before the keel of the new vessel was laid.
It was thus that her majesty the Queen began to supervise the only new royal palace built in her reign (so far). She and Prince Philip were heavily involved in the design with its architect Dr. John Brown. The brief was not to produce a pleasure craft but to design a ‘working palace at sea’ that could double as a hospital ship in times of crisis. Sir Hugh Casson was in charge of the interior decoration combining private and state rooms and re-using as much furniture as possible from the old royal yacht Victoria and Albert. The ship cost £2,098,000 and the interiors a further £78,000.
The queen’s apartments are aft and the crew quarters forward. The state rooms comprise an ante room, drawing room and a very large dining room; between the dining and reception areas are two small private sitting rooms one for the Duke and the other for the Queen. On the deck below are rooms for the royal household and secretaries. The royal bedrooms are on the upper deck; two suites each with a dressing room and bathroom.
The last major role Britannia played was during the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997. A few months after this it was announced that there would be no replacement for the royal yacht. It was decommissioned in December 1997 and started a new life as a tourist attraction in Edinburgh in 1998.