11th December 1997
Royal Yacht Britannia is retired to Edinburgh
The Royal Yacht Britannia is permanently berthed in the Port of Leith, behind Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal. Formerly Queen Elizabeth II’s official floating palace, the 126m-long, 17m-wide yacht was build by John Brown & Company at its shipyard in Clydebank. It is now a museum.
Britannia was ordered on 5 February 1952 and work on her construction began a little over four months later. She was launched in April 1953 and took her maiden voyage, from Portsmouth to Malta, in April 1954, with the then Prince Charles and his sister Princess Anne aboard. Charles would later use the yacht on his honeymoon after marrying Princess Diana, and Anne did the same after her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips.
As well as carrying the royal family, the yacht had a considerable crew, which at times numbered around 300. These comprised not only personal staff for the family, and those involved in the running of the yacht, but band members and military personnel.
The Royal Yacht remained in service for 45 years, by which point she was becoming too costly to maintain. It was decommissioned in December 1997.
Other events that occured in December
FREE Scotland history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Scotland's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
