The Royal Residence

The Royal Yacht Britannia proudly served the British Royal Family for over 44 years. This famous ship was the last of 83 Royal Yachts, a tradition which began hundreds of years before in the 1660s. Britannia travelled over one million nautical miles on 968 state visits. She was a successful ambassador around the world and played a key role in major historic events.

As a floating Royal residence, Britannia was famous across the globe for hosting magnificent state receptions and banquets, and guests would experience the same grandeur and sense of occasion as at any of the Royal palaces. The State Apartments were an elegant setting to entertain world leaders such as Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan and Rajiv Gandhi.

A Day in the Life

Of Queen Elizabeth II

Global Ambassador

Britannia was the first, and indeed the last, truly global Royal Yacht. Wherever in the world the Yacht went, a little bit of Britain went too.

The Royal Family

As well as her formal role, as the monarch's floating palace and British Ambassador, Britannia allowed the Royal Family some rare privacy away from their public duties and was famously described by Queen Elizabeth II as “the one place I can truly relax”.

I Name This Ship

Britannia was launched from the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank on 16 April, 1953. Queen Elizabeth II became the most travelled monarch the world has ever known, entertaining Heads of Commonwealth countries as if they were at a Royal palace on British soil.

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Royal Yacht Britannia - Drawing Room - Window

A Personal Touch

Britannia was the one Royal residence for which both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had final say in its design. The inspiration for choosing Britannia's signature blue paint was inspired by one of their wedding gifts, the Racing Yacht Bluebottle.

Decommissioning

Because Britannia played such an important role in both the public and private lives of the Royal Family for over four decades, her decommissioning on 11 December 1997 was a sad day for all.