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What really happened to Royal Yacht Britannia from ‘The Crown’ Season 5?
LONDON — The much-hyped fifth season of “The Crown” opens with a heavy-handed metaphor weighing approximately 4,000 tons.
It’s 1953, and a young Queen Elizabeth II, a month before her coronation, is in Scotland to launch the new royal yacht, the Britannia. “I hope this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant, capable of weathering any storm,” she declares to great applause.
And so the queen and her ship are inextricably linked as the Netflix TV show fast-forwards to 1991, when questions about costly repairs for the Britannia are presented in parallel to questions about whether the 65-year-old queen is too old for her role.
King Charles III wants to look ahead. ‘The Crown’ drags him back.
There is no missing that this is a narrative device in a series now labeled a “fictional dramatization.” But the episode’s release this week has renewed interest in the history of the royal yacht and ignited a debate about how the British monarch interacted with her government. It also happened to coincide with a modern-day echo of 1991, as new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, facing a recession, sank plans for a replacement royal yacht.
What to know about Britannia, ‘the floating palace’
There is a real Royal Yacht Britannia, and, as in the show, the young queen really did announce its name and christen it with a bottle of Empire wine. (Though not with a self-referential speech.)
The Britannia was the latest in a series of royal yachts dating back to 1660 and King Charles II . In 44 years of service, the ship sailed more than 1 million nautical miles — equivalent to more than 40 circumnavigations of Earth — calling at more than 600 ports in 135 countries and projecting British influence around the world.
The Britannia was used for state visits and receptions, royal family holidays and honeymoons. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton all spent time on board, as did Boris Yeltsin and Nelson Mandela. When civil war broke out in South Yemen in 1986, the yacht was rerouted to help evacuate civilians.
“The Crown” suggests the yacht was the queen’s favorite “home,” cherished even more than Balmoral in the Scottish highlands. Biographers don’t dispute that this could have been true. In his book “Queen of Our Times,” Robert Hardman writes, “There were few places where the Queen would be happier.”
Although served by a crew of 220, the ship was a place where the royal family could relax and escape the watchful eye of the public. Hugh Casson, who designed the interior, once recounted, “the overall idea was to give the impression of a country house at sea.” Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, was fascinated with the birds he saw during voyages in the 1950s and even published a book titled “Birds from Britannia.”
Did the queen lobby for repairs?
The controversial part of “The Crown” portrayal centers on whether the queen actively lobbied Prime Minister John Major for the government to pay for extensive repairs — which could have amounted to inappropriate interference in politics by a constitutional monarch.
She says in the show: “Here I am, coming to you, prime minister, on bended knee, for the sign-off, but I’m hoping that will be a formality.”
The character of Major, who was prime minister during a tough recession, responds by suggesting the royal yacht is “something of a luxury” and that spending public money on it while the economy is in the tank would not be good for the government or the royal family.
The queen persists, arguing that the yacht is “a central and indispensable part of the way the crown serves the nation” and “a floating, seagoing expression of me.”
The queen-ship metaphor is dragged out in a later conversation, when the character of Prince Charles — impatient to be king — tells Major about the Britannia: “Sometimes these old things are too costly to keep repairing.”
So did any of that actually take place?
The real-life Major has called the show’s imagined conversations “a barrel-load of nonsense.”
Robert Lacey, a historical consultant on “The Crown,” defended the depiction. He told The Washington Post that the subject of the yacht would have inevitably come up between the queen and the prime minister, who met once a week to discuss matters of state.
“She certainly spoke about it to the prime minister,” Lacey said. “Obviously, the royal family would have lobbied for it. The queen did want another royal yacht.”
Hardman, the royal biographer, insisted that while the queen no doubt would have been interested in repairs or a replacement, she would not have “leaned on her prime ministers for money.”
In a letter written in 1994, later stored in the National Archives, the queen’s deputy private secretary Kenneth Scott wrote to the cabinet office that “the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”
Scott noted, however, that “the question of whether there should be a replacement yacht is very much one for the government” and “the last thing I should like to see is a newspaper headline saying ‘Queen Demands New Yacht.’”
The Times of London headline when the letter was uncovered in 2018: “ I want a new yacht, Queen told Whitehall in secret letter .”
What happened to the Britannia?
Major’s government wasn’t swayed by arguments to repair or renew the ship. Even with a retrofit costing an estimated 17 million pounds, the Britannia would be expensive to run and hard to maintain. It was hard to justify when air travel was a readily available alternative for royal trips and trade missions.
The yacht’s final voyage abroad was to Hong Kong in 1997, when the territory was handed back to China. A few months later, the Britannia undertook a farewell tour of Britain, calling at six major ports and blasting its sirens as it passed the shipyard that built it, before returning for a decommissioning ceremony in Portsmouth, England on Dec. 11, 1997. The ship’s clocks were stopped. The Royal Marines band played. Lacey noted: “The only time the queen was seen to cry was when the royal yacht was de-commissioned.”
The ship is now a visitor attraction site in Edinburgh, Scotland. On the day of the queen’s state funeral in September, a lone piper played a lament on the deck.
What about plans for a replacement royal yacht?
The possibility of a replacement yacht gained some traction during the 1997 general election, but the incoming Labour government nixed the idea.
More than two decades later, as part of a campaign to promote a reinvigorated “Global Britain” in the aftermath of Brexit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed a new royal yacht . There was a push to name the ship after Prince Philip, who died last year, though it would be more for the government than for the royal family. In Johnson’s vision, the ship would tour the world as a “floating embassy,” where officials would host summits and cement trade deals. It would cost an estimated 250 million pounds to build, plus 30 million pounds a year to run.
But once again, the economic climate is not favorable for big yacht projects. The new Sunak administration announced this week that it was terminating the royal yacht plan and would instead procure a surveillance ship that could protect energy cables and other infrastructure. The prime minister’s spokesman said it was “right to prioritize at a time when difficult spending decisions need to be made.”
Where is the Royal Yacht Britannia and why was it decommissioned?
Queen Elizabeth’s farewell to the Royal Yacht in 1997 was one of the only occasions in her 70-year-reign that Her Majesty publicly shed a tear.
Almost 25 years ago, HMY Britannia left Portsmouth for a farewell tour around the UK . It went to six major ports across the UK, including Glasgow.
Why was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned and where is it today?
Why was it decommissioned?
The Royal Yacht was decommissioned in 1994 by John Major’s Government because “the costs were too great”, according to the official website.
The decision was made after the Royal Yacht was used for a long and successful journey spanning 44 years and travelling more than one million miles across the globe.
The issue of a new royal yacht became a political issue in the run-up to the 1997 General Election, when the new Labour Government came into power.
After the election, Tony Blair’s Government confirmed in October 1997 there would be no replacement for Britannia.
It marked the end of a long tradition of British royal yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II.
Where is the HMY Britannia?
Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland .
Today, the Royal yacht is open to curious visitors and welcomes more than 300,000 visits each year.
Britannia was launched in 1953 from the John Brown and Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland .
Its purpose was to serve the Royal Family and it was the first to be built with complete ocean-going capacity, designed as a royal residence to entertain guests around the world.
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For more than 44 years, it travelled more than one million miles with Her Majesty for state visits, official receptions, royal honeymoons, and relaxing family holidays.
Britannia quickly became one of the most famous ships in the world and now stands as a majestic symbol of Great Britain.
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What Happened to the Royal Yacht Britannia?
By Elise Taylor
The Crown season five begins and ends with the same plot point: The Royal Yacht Britannia. The vessel serves as a—fairly obvious—metaphor in the first episode, where Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth describes it as “a floating, seagoing version of me.” The problem with her metaphorical marine self? It’s in desperate need of multi-million dollar repairs.
She asks British prime minister John Major, played by Jonny Lee Miller, whether the government might be able to help foot the bill. He, in turn, asks if the royal family might front the cost, given the public pushback they both might receive if such a seemingly extravagant project was approved. In the final episode of the season (a note to the reader: spoilers will follow), Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth agree to decommission the yacht after Prince Charles’s trip to Hong Kong.
The Crown is known for taking much of its plot material from real-life events. In the case of the Royal Yacht Britannia, though—what really happened to the boat, and how much political controversy did it really cause?
To go back to the beginning, King George VI first commissioned the royal yacht that would become the Britannia in 1952. It was an exciting project, as the previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria, and was rarely used. (Queen Victoria, for one, did not like the water and never sailed.) Then, during the early 20th century, England was mostly at war, and making a massive, slow-sailing luxury ship would be a massive security risk in international waters.
The Royal Yacht Britannia, George decided, should both be an extravagant vessel and a functional one, able to double as a hospital if times of war were to arise again. In 1953, the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth christened the ship with a bottle of wine, as champagne was still seen as too extravagant post-war. In 1954, she set sail for the first time.
The Royal Yacht fulfilled many functions, most of them leisurely. Over the years, the boat hosted four royal honeymoons, including that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, as well as many family vacations. In 1969, after his investiture as the Prince of Wales, Charles hosted an intimate party on board to celebrate. (Newspapers at the time wrote that he danced with his dear friend Lucia Santa Cruz —the very person who eventually introduced him to Camilla Parker Bowles.)
It also served as a grandiose mode of transport for many royal visits. In 1959, for example, Britannia sailed to Chicago to celebrate the recently-opened St. Lawrence seaway in Canada, and President Eisenhower joined her on board. Twenty years later, she sailed to Abu Dhabi for her first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, where she held a grand dinner for Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
And although Queen Elizabeth's reign was not during wartime, the royal yacht did execute a humanitarian mission, as King George VI had always planned for: In 1986, it sailed to Aden to evacuate over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Yemen.
The New York Times once described the 412-foot Britannia as “an ordinary yacht what Buckingham Palace is to the house next door.” It wasn’t an exaggeration—Britannia was essentially a floating palace. It had a drawing room, a dining room, two sitting rooms, as well as galleys and cabins for all the officers. The stateroom interiors were just as ornate as any other royal estate, while the bedrooms—which all had their own bathrooms and dressing rooms—were designed to feel surprisingly personal.
By Emma Specter
By Christian Allaire
“Within the royal apartments, however, the regal elegance gives way to the homey, patched elbow chic of an English country house, with flowered chintz slipcovers, family photographs, and rattan settees, interspersed with the occasional relic of Empire—shark's teeth from the Solomon Islands here, a golden urn commemorating Nelson's victory at Trafalgar there,” the New York Times found when it boarded the ship in 1976.
The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. Politicians raised questions about its financial value as far back as 1954, when two MPs lobbied for an investigation on why the yacht’s refurbishment would cost 5.8 million pounds, accusing the royal family of waste and extravagance. A government committee later dismissed the accusations. In 1994, the Conservative government ruled the yacht too costly to refurbish, when repairs came in at a whopping 17 million, but then briefly walked back on their decision a few years later.
However, when Tony Blair’s Labour government won the election, and the new government once again declined to pay for Britannia. Britannia’s final journey was to far-flung Hong Kong in 1997, as Prince Charles turned over the British colony back to the Chinese at the end of Britain's 99-year lease. When they finally decommissioned the boat that summer, the queen cried—one of the few times she’s shown emotion in public. The boat had logged over one million nautical miles.
Today, Britannia sits permanently docked in Edinburgh. Visitors can take tours of its grand galleys, or even rent it out for events. Yet, despite its retirement, the concept of the royal yacht lives on: In 2021, Boris Johnson floated the idea of a new boat. However, a mere eight days ago, Rishi Sunak has scrapped the project—showing that, even now, the concept remains a controversial one.
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'The Crown': Did the Queen Really Demand That the Public Pay for the Britannia Yacht Refurb?
In season five of the Netflix drama, the Queen asks Prime Minister John Major to intervene. This is what actually happened
In episode one, series five of The Crown , a GP asks a “rather personal” question of the Queen (Imelda Staunton): is Balmoral her favourite residence? She demurs to answer, and instead the scene cuts to a majestic yacht, the HMY Royal Britannia, sailing somewhere in the Irish sea, presumably up to Scotland.
Five-star service? Try 10-star service on board this boujie boat: silver service suppers by candlelight; landscape painting sessions on the portside deck, a waiting staff of hundreds. Well, who wouldn’t love it? Try the British public, when, in the middle of a global recession, they were expected to shoulder a not-so-slight refurb costing £14.745 million (according to papers held by The Crown ’s Prince Phillip, Jonathan Pryce).
But while the Queen is seen asking – nay, telling – the then-PM John Major (Jonny Lee Miller) that her royal subjects will foot the bill in Peter Morgan's series, how much of this is true, and what happened to the luxury yacht in the end?
Royal Yacht Club
King Charles II first kicked off the idea that a personal boat was essential to the ruling monarch in 1660, and by the time the tradition was passed on to HRH Elizabeth II in 1953, it had evolved into the most luxury of ships.
The Queen launched the yacht in 1953, a 126-metre beast that could accommodate up to 250 guests, manned by 21 officers from the Royal Navy and 250 Royal Yachtsmen. The maiden voyage in 1954 took Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta to meet their parents, and over the years the boat entertained everyone from presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton to Nelson Mandela. Interestingly, the boat also doubled as a nuclear shelter for the Royals, who would have taken shelter in it off the coast of north-west Scotland, in case of an emergency.
While the yacht was mainly used for maritime jollies – Charles and Diana honeymooned on it in 1981, while the rest of the royal family used it for their annual fortnight jaunt to the west coast of Scotland, also known as their Western Isles Tour – it was also utilised to evacuate 1,000 people from Aden, Yemen, during a civil war in 1986.
However, in 1994, the Conservative government, then headed up by John Major, announced that the yacht would be lowering its anchor for the last time, due to the exorbitant running costs. Viscount Cranborne, House of Lords, said at the time: “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.”
However, by 1997, and with a general election looming, the idea of royal yacht became a contentious issue, and the Tories declared they would recommission the yacht if they were re-elected. According to The Guardian at the time, the Queen was “furious” that the royal family was “dragged into the centre of the election campaign, just as it is fighting to restore its public image.”
“At the same time I hope it is clear to all concerned that this reticence on the part of the palace now way implies that Her Majesty is not deeply interested in the subject; on the contrary, the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st Century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”
Speaking to the Daily Express , Professor Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, said of his letter discovery: “It is clear that behind the scenes the palace, which had been closely informed of the progress of discussions, was keen to keep the issue alive and was putting discreet pressure on Whitehall to come up with some alternative proposals.”
While The Crown goes a step further and shows the Queen putting her foot down to demand that John Major’s party – and the public – should pay for the refurb and to keep the boat on high seas, it’s highly unlikely this meeting ever took place. In 2003, the Sunday Telegraph quoted a source that claimed the monarch would have never put pressure on the government over a politically sensitive subject: “Neither the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh have ever expressed an opinion on the way the issue was handled and nor would they do so.”
Britannia was eventually decommissioned in 1997, after Tony Blair and Labour were voted into power, and its final trip 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. The Queen was later captured shedding a tear when it moored up in Portsmouth. The yacht is now a permanent visitor attraction in Port Leith, Edinburgh, and gets up to 300,000 shipmates a year.
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What Happened To The Royal Yacht Britannia After It Was Decommissioned?
The event was one of the extremely rare displays of emotions from the queen.
If you’ve binged season five of The Crown , then you’ll be familiar with the Royal Yacht Britannia . As dramatized in the series, Queen Elizabeth’s beloved yacht was decommissioned in 1997. However, that wasn’t the end of the famous seacraft’s story. Here’s where the Royal Yacht Britannia is today.
The Britannia Began Sailing In 1954
Originally commissioned for her father, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth oversaw the construction of the Royal Yacht Britannia . She and Prince Philip advised the ship’s design, offering input on the furnishings of each room. Philip later said in a 1995 documentary about the yacht that this is what made the seacraft so special to him and Elizabeth.
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“I suppose Britannia was rather special as far as we were concerned because we were involved from the very beginning in organizing the design and furnishing and equipping and hanging the pictures and everything else,” he explained. “For us it was rather special because all the other places we live in have been built by our predecessors. They started building Windsor 1,000 years ago, and they built Balmoral 100 years ago, and they built Sandringham 70 or 90 years ago. So we, in a sense, had our own.”
Queen Elizabeth and her family took countless trips on the yacht. The queen even stated that the yacht was the one place she could truly relax, though it did far more than that. The craft was used to evacuate over 1,000 refugees from Yemen in 1981. It’s been used to greet presidents and take royals on their honeymoons. Prince Charles and Princess Diana took their own honeymoon cruise on the yacht before it was decommissioned on December 11, 1997.
The Royal Yacht Britannia Is Now A Museum
After it was decommissioned in 1997, the ship became part of the National Historic Fleet and was moored in the historic Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ship is now maintained by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, a registered non-profit, and it serves as a museum . There was certainly a strong effort within the British government to greenlight plans for a new royal yacht, although the extravagance of such a move proved unattractive for both politicians and the royal family.
Tourists can now board the famous ship, peek inside its many rooms, and even have a meal in the Royal Deck Tea Room. The ship has been preserved to appear the same as it did when it was sailing. All of the clocks onboard were even stopped at 3:01 p.m., the exact time Queen Elizabeth last departed the ship. However, the yacht hasn’t lost its royal connection entirely. It is still rented out periodically for special events. Notably, Zara Tindall held a cocktail reception on the yacht the night before her wedding to Mike Tindall.
Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to construct another royal yacht . However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced that the £250 million plan was trashed . Given the gigantic cost of such an endeavor, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see another royal yacht sail the English Channel.
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When was the royal yacht britannia decommissioned where it is moored now and the history of the ship, the yacht is now a permanent visitor attraction in port leith, edinburgh.
Season five of The Crown starts in 1991 with the fictional Queen all-but-demanding a new Royal Yacht from then-Prime Minister John Major.
The luxurious yacht was a mainstay for Elizabeth II and Prince Philip , and comfortably carried the royals and dignitaries across the globe between 1953 and 1997.
King Charles II first launched the idea that a personal boat was essential for a ruling monarch, and by the time Elizabeth II acceded to the throne the Royal Yacht had evolved into a vessel of opulence, designed for long journeys and luxurious holiday cruises.
The Royal Yacht Britannia had spacious cabins, an onboard car garage, sun lounge, drawing room, plush bedrooms and amenities for 220 crewmembers (including several bars and pubs).
What happened to the Royal Yacht Britannia?
The first episode of the new season of The Crown shows the Queen lobbying for a new boat to replace the out-dated Royal Yacht Britannia. However, the replacement vessel never came to fruition.
In 2018, The Times reported that the Queen had “secretly lobbied Whitehall” in 1995, when senior Buckingham Palace official, Sir Kenneth Scott, wrote to the Cabinet Office saying that the Queen would “very much welcome” a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The letter, found in the National Archive, said: “I have deliberately taken a back seat in recent correspondence, since the question of whether there should be a replacement yacht is very much one for the Government and since the last thing I would like to see is a newspaper headline saying ‘Queen Demands New Yacht’.
“At the same time I hope it is clear to all concerned that this reticence on the part of the palace in no way implies that Her Majesty is not deeply interested in the subject; on the contrary, the Queen would naturally very much welcome it if a way could be found of making available for the nation in the 21st Century the kind of service which Britannia has provided for the last 43 years.”
The Queen was later photographed crying as the boat moored in Portsmouth after its final journey.
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When was the Royal Yacht Britannia decommissioned?
Despite the monarch’s love of the yacht, Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 after Tony Blair was voted into power.
However, Boris Johnson imagined a new Royal Yacht to replace Britannia . The project was later scrapped – making it the fourth plan of his to have been axed at a total cost of more than £51m to the British taxpayer.
Rishi Sunak abandoned plans for the flagship, which would have been used to drive trade deals in the post-Brexit Britain , as he embarked on an agenda of cutting spending in the Autumn Statement .
Building the ship, which was set to launch by the end of 2024, would have cost in the region of £250m.
Where is the Royal Yacht Britannia now?
The yacht is now a permanent attraction in Port Leith, Edinburgh, and welcomes up to 300,000 visitors a year.
There was controversy over the siting of the ship, with some arguing that it would be better moored on the River Clyde, where it was built, than in Edinburgh. However, the ship’s positioning in Leith coincided with a redevelopment of the harbour area, and the advent of Scottish devolution.
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Everything you need to know about Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht Britannia
HMY Britannia by Tower Bridge. Credit: Lynda Poulter via Wikimedia Commons.
In service from 1954 until 1997, HMY Britannia is the former royal yacht of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the British throne in 1660 and had HMY Mary built for him by the Dutch East India Company, and the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being a 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 the globe. Today, she is an award-winning visitor attraction and evening events venue permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh.
HMY Britannia was built in Scotland at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd. in Clydebank, West Dumbartonshire. It was launched by the Queen on 16 April 1953 and commissioned on 11 January 1954.
She sailed on her maiden voyage from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour, Malta, on 14 April 1954, carrying Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta, to Malta in order for them to meet their parents at the end of the royal couple’s Commonwealth Tour.
On 20 July 1959, Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway en route to Chicago, where she docked, making the Queen the first Canadian monarch to visit the city. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was aboard Britannia for part of this cruise; Presidents Ford, Reagan and Clinton were subsequently welcomed aboard the yacht.
Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, with space for an estimated 200 patients. Although the ship was never used in this capacity, as she sailed down the Red Sea in January 1986, en route to Australia, she was asked to play the equally challenging role of rescue ship, to evacuate British nationals and others trapped in South Yemen, where civil war had broken out. Moreover, in the event of nuclear war, Britannia was to be used as a refuge and base of operations for the Queen. The plan, codenamed “Python system”, would have had the ship located on the northwest coast of Scotland in sea lochs with Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Home Secretary safely on board.
The royal yacht played host to four royal honeymoons: Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones visited the West Indies in 1960; Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips also chose the Caribbean in 1973; Prince Charles and Princess Diana travelled around the Mediterranean in 1981 and finally the Duke and Duchess of York visited the Azores in 1986. Most recently, Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall held their pre-wedding reception on board the yacht in July 2011.
The State Drawing Room. Credit: Marianna Bozzoli.
Britannia ’s last foreign mission was to Hong Kong for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997. The ship set sail for Hong Kong in January and served to escort British Governor Christopher Patten and the Prince of Wales back to the UK.
In 1997, the Conservative government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if re-elected, while the Labour Party refused to disclose its plans for the vessel. After Tony Blair’s Labour won the general election in May 1997, it announced the vessel was to be retired and no replacement would be built. The previous government had argued that the cost was justified by its role in foreign policy and promoting British interests abroad.
The Queen has since chartered the MV Hebridian Princess , a private charter cruise ship, on two separate occasions for family trips around the Scottish islands.
When HMY Britannia would come into port, blowing its foghorns, the Queen herself would reportedly imitate the foghorn noise, much to the amusement of anyone in earshot. Then she and the Duke of Edinburgh would travel ashore on the royal barge, built in 1964 to replace to previous one, which had originally belonged to the royal yacht Victoria and Albert III .
Unlike most ships, Britannia was the only ships in the world where the captain was always an Admiral. The crew were volunteers from the Royal Navy, officers were appointed for a period of two years, while enlisted crew (known as “yachtsmen”) served for one-year periods, after which they could be admitted to “The Permanent Royal Yacht Service”. If accepted the Royal Yachtsmen were permitted to serve until they left the Royal Yacht Service or were expelled for medical or disciplinary reasons. An attachment of Royal Marines would also be stationed on the yacht when the Royal Family was present. Service on the royal yacht attracted no extra pay, allowances or leave.
Everything was done to preserve the Royal Family’s tranquillity: most orders were not given verbally, but by hand signal; soft-soled plimsolls were worn and any work near the royal apartments had to be completed by 8.00AM.
The Queen’s Bedroom. Credit: Marianna Bozzoli.
HMY Britannia was the last ship in the Royal Navy to have hammocks in sailors’ quarters.
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).
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The royal bride whose romantic tribute made her prince cry on their wedding day
If ever a wedding dress summed up a royal bride, it was the gown worn by sophie, the duchess of edinburgh.
The tragic empress, the princess bride and a priceless tiara that became a symbol of royal romance
All the details of the wedding dress of the year: the duchess of westminster.
Secrets of the Royal Yacht Britannia
Town & Country took a tour of the famous vessel which served the royal family for more than 40 years and has reopened as a tourist attraction.
Wondering about the royal family's yacht as you watch this season of The Crown ? In light of its appearance on the Netflix series, we're resurfacing this story from 2021 :
While plans to build a successor to boost Britain’s trade continue to attract criticism, Britannia is once again attracting hordes of visitors after being forced to close because of COVID-19. And it’s no surprise, because from being able to look right into the Queen’s bedroom to learning about what life was like for the up to 220 yachtsmen on board, this is a boat with some fascinating stories to tell.
Town & Country went aboard to learn the secrets of this much-loved vessel. Here’s our pick of the best royal tales.
The ship was altered with royal skirts in mind.
Many photographs of the Royal Yacht Britannia show the family waving from the Royal Bridge as the vessel departed from or arrived at its destination. And the bow of the ship was specially adapted to make sure these public moments did not reveal more than was intended. “The curved teak windbreak was a later feature, added for modesty’s sake, to prevent sea breezes from lifting royal skirts,” visitors to Britannia are told.
It was a struggle to get the royal car on board.
When the 412-ft yacht was built in 1953, it was considered important that it had a garage to house the Queen’s Rolls Royce. However, getting the car on board was no easy feat. “First, the car, in its transporter, had to be hoisted onto the special track that is fitted into the deck. Even then, it could only be squeezed into the Garage by removing its bumpers,” Britannia’s guide notes. Thankfully, in later years the Queen usually traveled in a car from the country she was visiting which meant that the garage was eventually used as a beer store.
Britannia was designed to avoid any peeking into the royal bedrooms.
Now, visitors to Britannia get a full view of the Queen and Prince Philip’s (separate) bedrooms, albeit through glass. However, when the ship was in use it was important that no-one could peek into these rooms. Pointing out that the windows looking into these areas are “higher than anywhere else on the Yacht,” Britannia’s guide explains: “By placing them at this height above the deck, any accidental glimpses into the royal bedrooms could be prevented.”
There were lots of people on board—but not everyone traveled in style.
One of the most fascinating things about touring the yacht is looking into the living quarters—from the relatively luxurious rooms of the Queen and Prince Philip and the ship’s Admiral, to the officers’ comfortable sitting room and dining room, to the approximately 220 yachtsmen who lived, slept, and worked, as the guide describes “in fairly cramped conditions.” Tourists are told: “Britannia was a ship in which hierarchy was strongly defined.” And there were plenty of people to accommodate. Some 45 working members of the royal household accompanied the Queen on her overseas visits.
The Queen favored neutrals while Philip liked darker colors.
As the yacht was build with their use in mind, the Queen and Prince Philip both had a say in the ship’s design and as such, it gives a some insight into their taste. The Queen’s (single) bed has a specially-commissioned embroidered silk panel above it, and her room is decorated in pale and neutral colors. By contrast, Philip’s room features vibrant maroon linen and curtains and, at his request, his pillows, unlike the Queen’s “do not have lace on the borders.”
There is only one double bed.
The honeymoon suite on the yacht is opposite the Queen and Philip’s bedrooms. “This is the only room on Britannia with a double bed which was brought on board by Prince Charles when he honeymooned on the Yacht with Princess Diana,” tourists are told. “When the Royal Children were small, this bedrooms and the adjoining room were used as nursery suites.”
The royal children liked to eat jelly on board.
Food on board Britannia was prepared in three galleys—one for the yachtsmen, one for the officers and one for the royal household. Buckingham Palace chefs were flown out to prepare royal food and there was a room that, according to Britannia’s guide, was known as the Jelly Room “for it was in here that the royal children’s jellies were stored.”
There is a dance floor that hasn’t been used for 50 years.
The largest room on Britannia is the State Dining Room where lavish banquets were held. It could also be used as a cinema room. “The silver-grey carpet could also be rolled up to expose a wooden dance floor beneath, although the last time this was used was for Princess Anne’s 21st birthday celebrations,” the guide notes.
Prince Philip kept a reminder of his naval career in his office.
Just like their separate bedrooms, the Queen and Philip had separate offices on board Britannia. Philip’s had a “specially designed display case,” the ship’s guide notes, in which he kept “a model of HMS Magpie, His Royal Highness’s first naval command.” The Duke of Edinburgh famously gave up his active naval career in 1951 to support his wife in her duties when King George VI’s health was ailing.
The ship was ready for stormy seas.
The royal family and their guests relaxed in the drawing room, which featured a grand piano. The instrument was played by members of the family and even some of their famous guests, including composer Noel Coward. “The Welmar baby grand piano cost £350 when it was supplied in 1952, and is firmly bolted to the deck to stop it taking off in choppy seas,” tourists are told.
Once the royal laundry turned blue.
Walking through the laundry at the end of the tour provides an insight into what was once a “hot and noisy environment.” Some 600 shirts could pass through the laundry in one day, with the royal family’s washing done on separate days to that of the crew. Britannia’s audio guide recounts “one occasion when the royal washing turned a delicate shade of blue, and Her Majesty’s Dresser was less than amused. The cause, it turned out, was a chemical reaction in the copper pipes, which was quickly remedied by adjusting the pH value of the water.”
For more information and to book tickets visit royalyachtbrittania.co.uk
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures , released in 2021.
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What life was really like on-board Royal Yacht Britannia
By Annabelle Spranklen
It was known as a royal palace on water, serving the British Royal Family for over 44 years, travelling over one million nautical miles and undergoing 968 state visits. It’s little wonder that the Queen showed an emotional farewell when the ship was decommissioned in 1997, as part of cost-cutting measures by Tony Blair’s Labour government.
By Ben Jureidini
By Harriet Johnston
By Eilidh Hargreaves
The Royal Yacht Britannia was described as the Queen as the place ‘where I can truly relax’. It was commissioned by the Queen’s father, King George VI in 1952, just two days before his death and so, it became the Queen’s duty to oversee the project, creating a ship that would not only become her family’s home while travelling, but also as an overseas emblem for the nation, hosting a number of key events onboard for the likes of Winston Churchill and Ronald Regan.
When it was launched on 16 April, 1953, the Queen announced that it was ‘a necessity’ for the head of the Commonwealth, adding ‘Between those countries the sea is no barrier, but the natural and indestructible highway.’
Today, the yacht is permanently docked in Edinburgh and serves as a tourist attraction, with every clock on board pointing to 3.01pm - recalling the moment the Queen stepped off its gangplank for the very last time.
Life onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia would vary depending on whether the ship was on an official state visit or royal holiday. When the Queen was aboard, she would maintain her normal busy schedule, spending most of her day in the sitting room with her private secretary attending to official documents, stopping for afternoon tea at 5pm, before taking work to bed with her most evenings.
For others though, life onboard was a little more fun. The Princess Royal admitted in recent TV interview that it took a team of nannies to stop her and her older brother Charles from falling overboard as they got very excited about being at sea.
Royal children onboard Britannia were also allocated a ‘Sea Daddy’, a member of crew to look after them and keep them busy. There were lots of games, water fights and fun in the inflatable paddling pool on the Verandah Deck, which was sometimes turned into a makeshift slide.
During the summer months, the Royal Family would go on a Western Isles tour, known as their annual family holiday cruising around Scotland. It was here that they’d have treasure hunts, picnics and barbecues ashore the secluded, remote islands.
There were chores to do too, as Anne commented, ‘We found as children that there was so much to do, we expended so much energy that we couldn't describe our time on the Yacht as a rest.' Jobs included cleaning life rafts and sometimes helping steer the yacht.
On later sailings, Diana, Princess of Wales would play the piano, while others would play cards, do jigsaws, watch films or read. Former members of crew have shared stories of Carry On -style sketches in the evening. One ex-sailor Albert ‘Dixie’ Deane recalled one experience, ‘You had all these guys; stokers, sailors and officers putting on little sketches. If you think of Sunday Night At The London Palladium , but downgrade it by around 100 times, you’ve got the general idea.’
He also described how the Queen Mother used to frequent the mess bar to drink her favourite gin and Dubonnet – then personally cook bacon and eggs for hungry crew members.
Over 412ft long, the ship had a 56-seat state dining room, a state drawing room, formal staircase and separate bedrooms and sittings rooms for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as a sun lounge. It also boasted a garage for the Queen’s Rolls-Royce, a 24-hour laundry and even a knighting stool that was carried on all voyages. Britannia was crewed by 220 Royal Yachtsmen, 21 officers and captained by an admiral with a 26-strong Royal Marine band sometimes on board too.
The royal yacht didn’t just host state visits and family holidays, it was also the spot for four royal honeymoons - there was a honeymoon suite onboard (the only double bed on the entire ship). Princess Margaret was the first to honeymoon on Britannia in 1960, for her Caribbean trip with Anthony Armstrong-Jones, where the couple had dinner in full evening dress every night. The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips followed in 1973 but were struck with terrible storms and 20ft waves that gave them a bad bout of seasickness.
The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales were next, navigating the Med in 1981, managing to avoid the press. The final honeymoon aboard was in 1986, when the Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York travelled around the Azores Islands near Portugal.
By Annabel Sampson
By Rebecca Cope
By Isaac Bickerstaff
Remembering Her Majesty The Queen - Tributes from Royal Yacht Britannia sailors
- HMS Queen Elizabeth
- Friday 9 September 2022 at 1:45pm
The Queen was in the public spotlight for most of her life, so when it came to escaping the glare of publicity, the Royal Yacht Britannia was the perfect bolt hole.
For nearly half a century, the ship carried the Queen and other members of the Royal Family on visits around the globe.
Dubbed the Britannia by Her Majesty the year after her coronation, it served as palace on the water.
Her active service came to an end in 1997 when repairs to extend her life were deemed too expensive.
The Queen and Prince Philip helped design the interiors of the floating palace , toning down the original designs to suit the austerity of post-war Britain. It was a home from home for the royals.
Sailing Britannia was considered a prestigious commission for the Navy crew hand-picked from volunteers.
The sailors who served on board viewed their role as a privilege and an honour.
Former sailor David Rushforth, who lives in Hartlebury, Worcestershire , was stationed on the yacht in the 1970s as a CPO Engineer, and often came into close contact with her.
He said: "She was very caring about the crew, and expressed concerns when she thought they were necessary and encouraged us all to enjoy the trip as much as she enjoyed it."
'She was very caring about the crew'
David Bosomworth, from Leeds, was affectionately known to the Queen as 'Buzzy'.
He spent just over 20 years of his career working on the Britannia between 1977 and 1997 and has fond memories of his time serving the Queen.
"She loved being on board because it got her out of the public eye and she could relax. She used to laugh and joke with the crew, and play tricks on people including members of the Royal Family.
"I remember Princess Anne being a little girl, and she was telling her mum she was bored, so the Queen said, ‘Go and find the golden rivet’, so we had to paint a rivet gold, so that Princess Anne could go and find it," Mr Bosomworth said.
Tom Suddes, a former royal photographer who trained at RAF Cosford in Shropshire , also worked on board.
He said: "The Queen, bless her, in particular, was really very good at making you feel relaxed.
"At the same time, you were obviously aware of the job you were doing.
"I was recording history for the archives in Windsor Castle."
Other crew members have also spoken about the Queen’s sense of humour and how she enjoyed joining in with jokes on board the Britannia, including Dennis Green - who was part of the Britannia crew in 1950.
"One of the lads was supposed to be a magician, and unknown to the rest of the crew, this sailor asked one of the ladies-in-waiting if the Queen would wear a special watch for a party which she agreed to."
"He asked if anyone had a watch that he could borrow and the Queen said, ‘I have’. So he put the watch into a bag, onto a block of wood and hit it with a hammer.
"No-one knew whether to clap, laugh, or whatever, until the Queen started laughing and then we realised it was a joke.
"It was very good actually," Mr Green said.
Official protocol still applied on board, but the Royal Family were able to relax and spend time together.
They sometimes played games such as deck hockey, and made water shoots and slides, inviting members of the crew to join in with the fun and games.
The Royal Yachtsmen were held in great esteem by the Queen, who made sure she knew about those working for her.
Allan Jones, who served on the Royal Yacht Britannia between 1969 and 1974, spoke of the time the Queen remembered a personal moment for his family.
"She said, 'What's your name?' I said, 'It's Jones Ma’am.' 'Oh yes, Jones, you're the person whose wife is expecting a baby.'
"Well, I was knocked sideways. I thought, 'Why would the Queen go to all that trouble to find out about Jones from Huddersfield whose wife is expecting a baby?'," Mr Jones said.
'It was a great privilege to serve Her Majesty'
When Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, the world caught a rare glimpse of emotion as the Queen said goodbye to the ship, and her dedicated crew.
Tony Wilkinson, who was part of the crew between 1981 and 1985, spoke of how significant his time on the Royal Yacht Britannia was.
He said: "My time sailing on the Royal Yacht was an unbelievable experience, something I will never be able to do again, and I saw sights that I'll never see.
"It was fantastic, a great experience and a great privilege to serve Her Majesty."
The UK and world reacts to the death of Her Majesty The Queen at 96...
New national flagship replacing the Royal Yacht Britannia 'to be funded through the Ministry of Defence', says Number 10
The new flagship will replace the Royal Yacht Britannia which was retired in 1997 after 44 years of service.
Political reporter @itssophiemorris
Monday 21 June 2021 17:04, UK
A new national yacht, which is reportedly set to cost £200m, will be paid for out of the Ministry of Defence's budget, Downing Street has confirmed.
The national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will sail the globe hosting trade talks.
The prime minister's official spokesperson said Boris Johnson hopes it will be built in the UK, but that international rules on procurement will be followed.
Mr Johnson announced the commissioning of the new flagship earlier this year , saying it would be used to promote British interests around the world as the UK seeks to build trade links post-Brexit.
The vessel will be part of and crewed by the Royal Navy, the PM said.
"Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British - a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage," he added.
Labour has previously called on the government to set out how the yacht will boost trade and jobs in the UK and to "focus on value for money" with regards to the project.
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Conservative Jake Berry, who is chairman of the Northern Research Group of MPs, has campaigned for the vessel to be built by Cammell Laird on Merseyside.
And at a lobby briefing on Monday, the PM's official spokesperson confirmed the new flagship will be "funded through the Ministry of Defence".
"This new national flagship will boost British trade and drive investment into the economy," he said.
"The procurement process, which is being done through the MoD, will reflect its wide-ranging use and so it will be funded through the MoD, as set out previously."
The PM's official spokesperson declined to comment on where the MoD would find the reported £200m required for the project out of its budget, but did confirm the new vessel will not be a warship.
"We will set out the exact detail in due course but this is a trade ship, it is not a military vessel," he said.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched by The Queen in 1953 and was retired in 1997 after completing 44 years of service.
The new national flagship is expected to be in service for around 30 years.
The yacht's name is yet to be announced, but reports have suggested it will pay homage to the Duke of Edinburgh who was Lord High Admiral from 2011 until his death earlier this year, and served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
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Diana's butler Paul Burrell hits out at claims he is planning to cash in on his wedding news by revealing all about a gay ORGY on the Royal Yacht Britannia
- The orgy aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia reportedly took place in 1981
- Homosexuality was illegal in the British military when alleged incident occurred
- The orgy supposedly involved members of the navy, who were later dismissed
- Mr Burrell wasn't arrested for the orgy, nor did he face criminal charges because he 'was the Queen's right hand man at that point', Burrell's agent said
- But Mr Burrell siad he wanted to 'unequivocally distance' hismelf from quotes attributed to his representative
By Kelly Mclaughlin For Mailonline
Published: 18:42 EDT, 7 March 2017 | Updated: 02:56 EDT, 8 March 2017
View comments
Princess Diana 's 'rock' Paul Burrell has hit out at claims from his agent that he is touting details of a gay orgy he took part in on the Royal Yacht Britannia for cash.
His agent claimed he was willing to discuss the scandal, claiming that when the Queen found out, she threatened to fire him if he didn't settle down with a woman.
Adam Muddle told The Sun : 'He wants to talk about the scandal that happened on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is where members of the Navy were dismissed for being caught up in a gay orgy.
'Paul was there. But he wasn't arrested or subjected to any sort of criminal charges because he was the Queen's right hand man at that point.'
The orgy, which supposedly included several members of the navy who were later dismissed, reportedly took place in 1981, when homosexuality was still illegal in the British military.
The claims come a day after the father-of-two, 58, came out as gay and announced he would be marrying his long-term partner.
But a furious Mr Burrell hit back: 'I would like to unequivocally distance myself from the gutter quotes, attributed to my representative, that are not only unacceptable but totally misrepresent me.
'I will review how and why this 'pitch' ever came to pass without my knowledge.'
Princess Diana's 'rock' Paul Burrell (pictured fifth from right) was part of a gay orgy on the Royal Yacht Britannia, his agent claims. None of the people in the above photo of the Britannia are thought to have been involved in the reported orgy
Getting married: Princess Diana's former butler Burrell is believed to be tying the knot to his lawyer partner Graham Cooper next month (both pictured)
Mr Burrell added: 'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.
'I did not commission my agent to say anything along the lines of what's been reported in The Sun.
'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.
'I would ask that people judge me on words from my mouth, not what a newspaper predicts I'll say, and not what someone might wish for me to say.
'Any conversation on such subject matter happened only between him and the newspaper, and yet the headline attributes to me words which I repudiate.'
Reports from 1981 show that a trial against naval members were held in secret, which prompted rumours of a cover-up, which officials denied.
The men involved were accused of 'disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind', and sailors were arrested after X-rated photos were found during a drugs raid.
When the Queen found out about the orgy, she threatened to fire Burrell unless he found a woman to marry. Two years later, he wed his wife of more than 30 years, Maria
The Queen was kept up to date on disciplinary proceedings during the case, and Prince Phillip was shown a special report on the case, the Sun reported.
Buckingham Palace would not comment on claims that the Queen knew Mr Burrell was involved in the orgy.
Two years later, in 1983, Burrell wed his wife Maria.
Mr Burrell, who divorced his wife last year, first hinted at the orgy in letters to his friend, Greg Pead, who claimed to have an affair with Burrell, said they had a romance in the 1980s.
Mr Pead says he had a passionate two year affair with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before he wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter.
When Mr Burrell was caught up in the gay porn investigation aboard the yacht Britannia, he wrote to Mr Pead explaining how he had lost his job only to be re-instated by the Queen.
Mr Pead said: 'He wrote to me saying: 'As you are aware, Greg, this has been a terrible time for me - I was dismissed from royal duties and thought my life had ended... the Queen reinstated me and said: 'Paul, I am so glad to have you back. Let's put this unsavoury business behind us.'
'I believe it was her way of trying to stop his homosexual behaviour.'
The 63-year-old, who now runs a vintage clothes store on Australia's Gold Coast, told MailOnline he also still possesses the letter from Burrell where he talks about marriage.
Speaking exclusively to Mail Online Mr Pead said: 'I've still got the letter Paul wrote to me saying he wanted to get married and he would wear white.
'I wonder if he will be wearing white for his own wedding?'
In 2009, Mr Pead told a documentary that Mr Burrell was told by the Royal family that he had to settle down or find a new job.
Mr Burrell has never talked about his sexuality even though it was well known within royal circles that he was gay.
Gay affair: Greg Pead, now 63, says he had a passionate two year relationship with the royal butler in the early 1980s, before Burrell wed wife Maria and had two children, and even received a marriage proposal by letter
Close: Burrell, 'Mandy' and Mr Pead in London, 1981, when Pead says he was in the midst of a passionate affair with the royal butler and was invited to Buckingham Palace
Royals: Burrell, who served Princess Diana (pictured together in 1994) for ten years, claimed the Princess of Wales called him her 'rock' and the 'only man I ever trusted' - her sons would later accuse him of 'betrayal'
His spokesman confirmed that Burrell and his partner Graham Cooper, also 58, will marry in April. They have reportedly been together for a decade.
The ex- royal flunkey and his wife Maria have been living separate lives for over five years. They divorced last year after 32 years of marriage.
The couple's sons, Alex, 27, and Nick, 24 have been nothing but supportive of their father's announcement.
A friend told The Mirror that the men told their father: 'Don't worry, dad, we will stand proud beside you on your big day.'
Pead, who first went public with details of his affair with Burrell in 2002, said the announcement of Burrell's wedding to his 58 year old partner is due to take place in April.
He went public with the wedding after being approached by a national newspaper who had been tipped off about the nuptials.
Burrell's sexuality will come as no shock to members of the royal family and other members of staff.
While he always denied being gay – except to Princess Diana – others within the royal circle were aware.
One story circulating within the royal household was that Mr Burrell, then a footman at Buckingham Palace was told to get married or lose his job after allegedly being linked to gay pornography on the royal yacht Britannia.
In 1983 he wed Maria Cosgrove, a maid to the Duke of Edinburgh and they had two sons Alexander, now 27 and Nicholas,24.
The marriage took place three years after the alleged affair with Mr Pead had ended.
Previous relationship: Paul Burrell and ex-wife Maria, who divorced last year after 32 years of marriage, left in 1984, and have two sons, who were only told recently their father was gay
'BUTLER ONLY TOLD DIANA HE WAS GAY'
A source close to Mr Burrell has claimed the only person her ever told about his sexuality was Diana.
The couple's adult sons Alexander, 27, and Nicholas, 24, are expected to fly over from the US to attend the wedding ceremony in the Lake District.
Their 'lavish' wedding ceremony will be 'circus themed' – with waiters dressed as clowns and ringmasters – and Paul and his boyfriend have already held their stag do with friends at a Blackpool drag club, according to The Sun .
Mr Burrell and Mr Cooper live together and were listed as directors at the same company in records from 2011.
Mr Cooper is believed to be a Legal Director for HBOS in Chester since 2010, having previously spent 22 years working for Lloyds Bank.
They were also pictured together on Facebook at the Blackberry Creek Retreat Bed & Breakfast, during a holiday in Missouri, US, in 2014, two years before Mr Burrell's divorce.
Mr Burrell has always refused to discuss his sexuality despite a 2002 expose in which an Australian man claimed they had enjoyed a three-year relationship in the early 1980s before he married Maria.
However, a source close to the former butler has revealed that he confided in his special friend, Princess Diana.
They told the Sun : 'Paul's friends and family all know but for a long time he kept it a closely guarded secret.
'He did share it with Diana while he worked with her because they were so close.
'But at the time she was the only woman he felt he could tell.'
Mr Pead even claimed that Mr Burrell later invited him into the Queen's private quarters to see her corgi dogs.
Although only a footman, Mr Pead said Mr Burrell was treated like royalty by the other staff.
He said Mr Burrell would write love letters to him on embossed stationery from the royal yacht , Windsor Castle and the Palace.
In the letters Mr Burrell's term of endearment for his lover was 'Pumpkin Pie' and called a part of his anatomy 'roo'.
The affair continued in 1981 when Mr Pead made trips to London, and also when Burrell visited Sydney, Australia for a three weeks arriving on New Year's Eve.
Mr Pead recalled that the affair fizzled out when Mr Burrell refused to move to Australia and they last saw each other in 1982 when Mr Pead said they slept together twice.
He had no further contact with Mr Burrell but said he was stunned when he saw photos of his ex-lover's wedding to Maria in the Australian press.
Pead first went public with details of the affair 20 years after it ended when Burrell was in the headlines for allegedly stealing Diana's possessions following her death in 1997.
His trial at the Old Bailey was sensationally stopped when the Queen 'remembered' he had told her he was holding on to them for safe keeping.
New love: Mr Burrell and partner Mr Cooper while on a holiday in Missouri, US, in 2014
Home: Paul Burrell lives in this rural Cheshire mansion with his fiance Graham, who he plans to marry next month
Following his acquittal Burrell cashed in on his close relationship with Diana by writing a tell all book.
But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence.
'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.
'If we may say so, we feel we are more able to speak for our mother than Paul. We ask Paul to bring these revelations to an end.'
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With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004 but his wife and children remained at their home in Cheshire.
Mr Burrell spent weeks at a time touring the US as he gave speeches on etiquette and his life in royal service.
His Florida home was ironically on a road called Majestic Isle in an up market gated community about 30 miles from the Disney theme parks of Orlando.
Maria and the children later moved to Florida and the boys attended US college. Alexander worked as a swimming pool cleaner part time during breaks from his studies.
Paul and Maria Burell have two sons together, Alexander and Nicholas (pictured, in 2002)
When Mr Burrell moved back to Cheshire to run a flower shop his wife and children remained in Florida.
They were divorced last year by mutual consent.
Maria has never publically spoken about her husband's alleged sexuality.
Her only comment on the subject came when her brother Ron Cosgrove sold a story to a Sunday newspaper alleging that she knew he was bisexual.
Cosgrove also claimed Mr Burrell had a gay affair with his neighbours in Florida and he and Maria only stayed married for the sake of their children.
He later sold another story for £45,000 alleging Mr Burrell had told him he had slept with Princess Diana. Solicitors for the ex-butler said the story was false and filed a complaint to the press watchdog and Maria denied the allegations.
As the most high profile of royal servants Mr Burrell has been subject to numerous stories about his sexuality.
In 2002 comic Michael Barrymore claimed Mr Burrell had tried to seduce him while he was grieving over the death of the Princess.
Paul and Maria Burrell met while they were both working at Buckingham Palace, with Maria serving as the Duke of Edinburgh's maid, and married in 1984.
An established tradition suggested one of them should give up their job with the Royal Family, but the Queen made an exception for them, allowing both to remain in Royal service.
Mr Burrell started working for Diana four years later and went on to become one of her most trusted members of staff.
He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in 1997.
In 2006 Mr Burrell released his second book about his time serving Princess Diana, called The Way We Were
HOW PAUL BURRELL BECAME THE 'ONLY MAN' PRINCESS DIANA TRUSTED
Paul Burrell served as Princess Diana's private butler for 10 years
Burrell, who entered Royal Service at age 18, as a Palace footman, became the Queen's personal footman a year later.
He joined Prince Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire in 1987 and remained there until her death in August 1997.
Burrell was the only non-family member to be present at Diana's private burial at the Spencer estate Althorp.
In 1993 she wrote a letter to him that claimed the Prince of Wales was plotting to kill her so he could marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the former nanny to Princes William and Harry.
The note was shown at the inquest into her death and was sent to Burrell in October - 10 months after her separation from Prince Charles was announced.
Burrell wrote two tell-all books after her death - A Royal Duty in 2003 and a follow-up book called The Way We Were in 2006 - in which he claimed she had called him 'the only man I can trust'.
It is believed the Princess of Wales entrusted him with her private papers during her divorce.
He said: 'She was surrounded by the richest, most educated people and she chose a lorry driver's son from Derbyshire.
'She called me her rock and I took care of her.'
Mr Burrell then made millions from a series of books about his life with the princess and from appearing on reality shows such as I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
In the international bestseller he claimed Diana described him as her 'rock' and 'the only man I can trust'.
In 2003 he wrote a tell-all memoir 'A Royal Duty' that went into detail about his time serving the Prince and Princess of Wales, and featured letters to him from Diana.
But in a rare public statement, Prince William and Prince Harry accused him of betraying their mother and said she would have been mortified by his breach of confidence. 'We cannot believe that Paul, who was entrusted with so much, could abuse his position in such a cold and overt betrayal,' they said in 2003.
With the proceeds of the book, he bought a property in Clermont, near Orlando, Florida, in 2004.
The relocation came two years after he was accused of stealing 352 items from Princess Diana's estate after she died - charges that were later dropped.
In 2006 he also released a follow-up book called The Way We Were. In this work, he claimed Diana's mother Frances Shand Kydd didn't like him and believed he was 'just another hanger-on grasping at Diana's celebrity'.
Maria Burrell moved to Florida in 2010 after her husband admitted he had not told 'the whole truth' at the inquest into Diana's death in 1997, which was held in 2008.
Last year they divorced.
Mr Burrell has made a number of TV appearances since Diana's death, including on Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (left) and on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2004 (right)
Mr Burrell was quoted as saying: 'I still love my wife. Marrying her was the best thing in my life, and to witness the boys being born – nothing compares. It's sad when people part, but it happens a lot.'
A spokesman announced last year that their decision to divorce was a 'mutual one'.
A statement said: 'Our clients Paul and Maria Burrell would like to end any speculation over the past few days by confirming that they are currently going through a divorce.
'The decision to file for divorce was a mutual one, both Paul and Maria remain the best of friends and have two wonderful sons together who remain their priority.
'Paul and Maria will not be giving any further comments and would kindly request that their privacy is respected during this time.'
After his career serving the Royals, Burrell made a number of TV appearances.
In 2004 he was runner-up in series four of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in which he stayed in the Australian jungle for three weeks - coming second to comedian Joe Pasquale.
He was also a judge and trainer on Australian Princess in 2005, and in March 2006 appeared on Countdown in Dictionary Corner.
In early 2006, he appeared as Richard Gere on ITV's Stars In Their Eyes, singing Razzle Dazzle from the film Chicago.
In September 2015, Paul appeared in Celebrity Big Brother as part of a shopping task.
Share or comment on this article: Paul Burrell 'was involved in gay orgy on Yacht Britannia'
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Elektrostal
Elektrostal Localisation : Country Russia , Oblast Moscow Oblast . Available Information : Geographical coordinates , Population, Altitude, Area, Weather and Hotel . Nearby cities and villages : Noginsk , Pavlovsky Posad and Staraya Kupavna .
Information
Find all the information of Elektrostal or click on the section of your choice in the left menu.
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| Country | |
|---|---|
| Oblast |
Elektrostal Demography
Information on the people and the population of Elektrostal.
| Elektrostal Population | 157,409 inhabitants |
|---|---|
| Elektrostal Population Density | 3,179.3 /km² (8,234.4 /sq mi) |
Elektrostal Geography
Geographic Information regarding City of Elektrostal .
| Elektrostal Geographical coordinates | Latitude: , Longitude: 55° 48′ 0″ North, 38° 27′ 0″ East |
|---|---|
| Elektrostal Area | 4,951 hectares 49.51 km² (19.12 sq mi) |
| Elektrostal Altitude | 164 m (538 ft) |
| Elektrostal Climate | Humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb) |
Elektrostal Distance
Distance (in kilometers) between Elektrostal and the biggest cities of Russia.
Elektrostal Map
Locate simply the city of Elektrostal through the card, map and satellite image of the city.
Elektrostal Nearby cities and villages
Elektrostal Weather
Weather forecast for the next coming days and current time of Elektrostal.
Elektrostal Sunrise and sunset
Find below the times of sunrise and sunset calculated 7 days to Elektrostal.
| Day | Sunrise and sunset | Twilight | Nautical twilight | Astronomical twilight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 June | 02:43 - 11:25 - 20:07 | 01:43 - 21:07 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 9 June | 02:42 - 11:25 - 20:08 | 01:42 - 21:08 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 10 June | 02:42 - 11:25 - 20:09 | 01:41 - 21:09 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 11 June | 02:41 - 11:25 - 20:10 | 01:41 - 21:10 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 12 June | 02:41 - 11:26 - 20:11 | 01:40 - 21:11 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 13 June | 02:40 - 11:26 - 20:11 | 01:40 - 21:12 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
| 14 June | 02:40 - 11:26 - 20:12 | 01:39 - 21:13 | 01:00 - 01:00 | 01:00 - 01:00 |
Elektrostal Hotel
Our team has selected for you a list of hotel in Elektrostal classified by value for money. Book your hotel room at the best price.
| Located next to Noginskoye Highway in Electrostal, Apelsin Hotel offers comfortable rooms with free Wi-Fi. Free parking is available. The elegant rooms are air conditioned and feature a flat-screen satellite TV and fridge... | from | |
| Located in the green area Yamskiye Woods, 5 km from Elektrostal city centre, this hotel features a sauna and a restaurant. It offers rooms with a kitchen... | from | |
| Ekotel Bogorodsk Hotel is located in a picturesque park near Chernogolovsky Pond. It features an indoor swimming pool and a wellness centre. Free Wi-Fi and private parking are provided... | from | |
| Surrounded by 420,000 m² of parkland and overlooking Kovershi Lake, this hotel outside Moscow offers spa and fitness facilities, and a private beach area with volleyball court and loungers... | from | |
| Surrounded by green parklands, this hotel in the Moscow region features 2 restaurants, a bowling alley with bar, and several spa and fitness facilities. Moscow Ring Road is 17 km away... | from | |
Elektrostal Nearby
Below is a list of activities and point of interest in Elektrostal and its surroundings.
Elektrostal Page
| Direct link | |
|---|---|
| DB-City.com | Elektrostal /5 (2021-10-07 13:22:50) |
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- Distance /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#dist1
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November 11, 2022 at 4:15 a.m. EST. The Royal Yacht Britannia enters Hong Kong harbor on its last overseas voyage in 1997. (Dan Groshong/AFP/Getty Images) 7 min. LONDON — The much-hyped fifth ...
Today, the Royal yacht is open to curious visitors and welcomes more than 300,000 visits each year. Britannia was launched in 1953 from the John Brown and Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland .
The Royal Yacht Britannia, George decided, should both be an extravagant vessel and a functional one, able to double as a hospital if times of war were to arise again. In 1953, the newly-crowned ...
The Queen launched the yacht in 1953, a 126-metre beast that could accommodate up to 250 guests, manned by 21 officers from the Royal Navy and 250 Royal Yachtsmen.
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy.She was in their service from 1954 until 1997. 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 ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia Is Now A Museum. After it was decommissioned in 1997, the ship became part of the National Historic Fleet and was moored in the historic Port of Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ship is now maintained by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, a registered non-profit, and it serves as a museum.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson also honeymooned aboard the yacht. The end of an era - how the Royal Britannia ended nearly 400 years of tradition. The Britannia cost about £11 million to run each year, Reuters reported and, in 1997, the British Parliament - led by the left-wing Labour Party - decided to decommission it.
The Royal Yacht Britannia had spacious cabins, an onboard car garage, sun lounge, drawing room, plush bedrooms and amenities for 220 crewmembers (including several bars and pubs).
In service from 1954 until 1997, HMY Britannia is the former royal yacht of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the British throne in ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia Designed to be the Queen's floating residence, The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched on 16 April 1953 at the John Brown & Co shipyard on the River Clyde.
The royal family has a long history of seafaring—the first official royal yacht was the HMY Mary (HMY stands for His or Her Majesty's Yacht), gifted to Charles II by the Dutch in 1660. In fact ...
It was a struggle to get the royal car on board. When the 412-ft yacht was built in 1953, it was considered important that it had a garage to house the Queen's Rolls Royce. However, getting the ...
The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips followed in 1973 but were struck with terrible storms and 20ft waves that gave them a bad bout of seasickness. The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the start of their honeymoon, 1981 Getty. The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales were next ...
Royal. Tuesday 31 May 2022, 12:09am. The Royal Britannia once served as the Queen's home while at sea, now former crew members have come out of retirement to maintain Her Majesty's pride and joy ...
The Queen cuts a ribbon on the Royal Yacht Britannia, watched by the Duke of Edinburgh, to mark the vessel's one millionth mile. Credit: Martin Keene/PA Other crew members have also spoken about ...
The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched by The Queen in 1953 and was retired in 1997 after completing 44 years of service. The new national flagship is expected to be in service for around 30 years.
Adam Muddle told The Sun: 'He wants to talk about the scandal that happened on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is where members of the Navy were dismissed for being caught up in a gay orgy. 'Paul ...
A residential and industrial region in the south-east of Mocsow. It was founded on the spot of two villages: Chagino (what is now the Moscow Oil Refinery) and Ryazantsevo (demolished in 1979). in 1960 the town was incorporated into the City of Moscow as a district. Population - 45,000 people (2002). The district is one of the most polluted residential areas in Moscow, due to the Moscow Oil ...
In 1938, it was granted town status. [citation needed]Administrative and municipal status. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Elektrostal Urban Okrug.
Elektrostal Geography. Geographic Information regarding City of Elektrostal. Elektrostal Geographical coordinates. Latitude: 55.8, Longitude: 38.45. 55° 48′ 0″ North, 38° 27′ 0″ East. Elektrostal Area. 4,951 hectares. 49.51 km² (19.12 sq mi) Elektrostal Altitude.
State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region Elektrostal postal code 144009. See Google profile, Hours, Phone, Website and more for this business. 2.0 Cybo Score. Review on Cybo.