The Royal Yacht

Written by Jack on April 3, 2014

rain48° F

The morning took us to [The HMY Britannia] in Edinburgh, the Royal Family’s retired luxury vacation yacht, commissioned in 1954. Interestingly enough, it was considered an official Royal Navy vessel, and when in use was crewed by 250 Royal Navy sailors and captained by a Navy Admiral. So, pretty official and stuff.

The Queen and the Duke of Earl had separate rooms with single beds. How romantic.

It seemed the yacht served 2 major purposes: impressing people, and a place to drink.

Impressing People

The dining room has entertained numerous heads of state, the wealthy and other fame and celebritae. Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton,

Gifts to the queen are shown off all around the ship, primarily in the dining room. Knives and weapons from Arab Nations, Shark-tooth ceremonials swards from Malasia, carvings from the Easter Islands, Boomarangs from Austrailia, and all manner of all crazy things.

Drinking

I think I counted at least 6 bars on board. One for each class of people on board. One for the royal family, one for the admiral and COs, another for the general navy men, and so on. Enough said.

The kids did really well and especially enjoyed room with various puzzle and board games to pass the time. We honestly couldn’t believe how well behaved Liam was. He stayed behind all ropes and barriers, walked around calmly, and he shouted “WOW!” more than once about something or other. Hard to ask for more.