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The Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Drive, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ

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Photos show what it's like onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, the queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

• The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.
• It's five stories tall, had more than 240 staff, and was known as the queen's "floating palace."
• Britannia is now anchored in Leith, Scotland, and reopens as a tourist attraction on May 12.

For 44 years, the Royal Yacht Britannia carried the queen and members of the royal family around the world.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia

Built in 1953, it logged more than 1 million miles and became known as the queen's "floating palace."

The five-story ship was part royal residence and part Royal Navy ship, with a full-time staff of more than 240 royal yachtsmen and officers.

The queen traveled on the ship for tours abroad, during which she would meet with dignitaries both on land and onboard.

She also used it for vacations like the royal family's annual summer cruise to the Western Isles of Scotland.

The queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax."

Four royal couples used the ship for their honeymoons, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981.

In 1997, the Labour government decommissioned the ship, citing costs as a primary reason. The Britannia cost about £11 million to run each year, Reuters reported.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia , Reuters

While the queen has yet to build a new yacht, that wasn't the end of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

One year later, it opened as a public museum in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The ship is set to reopen on May 12, almost six months after it closed in November due to the pandemic.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia , BBC

Visitors will be able to step into spaces like the teak-lined sun lounge, the queen's favorite room, where she took her breakfast and afternoon tea.

The queen's bedroom, featuring a vanity table, writing desk, and twin bed, is also on display. The queen and Prince Philip slept separately while onboard the Britannia.

The largest room on the ship is the state dining room, where the queen entertained dignitaries like Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher. The room could fit 56 guests.

Nearby is the state drawing room, which served as a place for the royal family to relax as well as a reception area for guests.

Toward the front of the ship are rooms where the staff lived and operated, like the 24-hour laundry room. Here, yachtsmen and officers would change outfits up to six times per day.

The former royal yachtsmen, known as "yotties," now reunite annually to help maintain the ship.

The clocks on the Royal Yacht Britannia don't get touched. They are permanently stopped at 3:01 p.m., the time when the queen stepped off the ship for the last time.

Prince Philip once said that the ship occupies a unique place in royal history. "Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace, or just a house," he said, according to the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. "The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia."

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The Royal Yacht Britannia Has a Fascinating History—Here's Everything You Should Know

It doesn't get more majestic than Queen Elizabeth II's yacht.

“Britannia is special for a number of reasons,” Prince Phillip once said. “Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace or just a house. The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia. As such she is a splendid example of contemporary British design and technology.”

Although she retired from service in 1997, today the Britannia, one of many of the world's grandest yachts , is docked in Edinburgh, where she is open as a visitors’ attraction and host of private events. Below we give you all the Royal Yacht Britannia facts you might want to know, from who owns the yacht now to why she was decommissioned to how fast she is to how to get tickets to visit. Britannia was, after all, the one place the queen said she could “truly relax,” so why not see why for yourself?

Royal Yacht Britania Facts and History

On February 4, 1952, John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland, received the order from the Admiralty to build a new Royal Yacht to travel the globe and double as a hospital ship in times of war, according to the royal yacht's website . King George VI passed away two days after, sadly, and so on April 16, 1953, the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II announced the yacht’s new name as the ship was revealed.

"I name this ship Britannia,” she said. “I wish success to her and all who sail in her." Britannia was commissioned into the Royal Navy in January 1954 and by April of that year sailed into her first overseas port: Grand Harbour, Malta.

The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh worked with interior designer Sir Hugh Casson for the ship to serve as both a functional Royal Navy vessel and an elegant royal residence. Queen Elizabeth II selected deep blue for Britannia’s hull, instead of the more traditional black. Its Naval crew included 220 Yachtsmen, 20 officers, and three season officers—plus a Royal Marines Band of 26 men during Royal Tours.

All of them might have had to change uniform up to six times a day, so the laundry service on board worked nonstop. The yacht also engaged in British overseas trade missions known as Sea Days and made an estimated £3 billion for the Exchequer between 1991 and 1995 alone.

The ship’s wheel was taken from King Edward VII’s racing yacht, also named Britannia, according to Boat International , and the 126-meter ship could reach speeds of 22.75 knots, or a seagoing cruising speed of 21 knots, according to Super Yacht Times . Other fun facts: The yacht could produce her own fresh water from sea water, and shouting was forbidden aboard to preserve tranquility, favoring hand signals for Naval orders instead.

Over the next 44 years, the Britannia would sail the equivalent of once around the world for each year, in total visiting 600 ports in 135 countries. Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones were the first of four couples to honeymoon on the ship in 1960, gifting them all privacy to sail to secluded locations. Prince Charles and Princess Diana followed in 1981 on the Mediterranean as well as Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips before them in 1973 in the Caribbean and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 in the Azores.

For family vacations aboard the ship, games, treasure hunts, plays, and picnics were organized, and on warm days the children could play in an inflatable paddling pool on the Verandah Deck.

In the Sun Lounge, the queen especially enjoyed taking breakfast and afternoon tea with views through large picture windows, a space you can see replicated in the TV show The Crown. Although no filming took place on board the Britannia for the show, researchers ensured scenes aboard it were accurate. In the queen’s bedroom, the resemblance is seen down to the decorative wall light fittings and embroidered silk panel above her bed that had been specially commissioned.

In 1997, the ship was decommissioned after the government decided the costs to refit it would be too great. On its final day in her service that followed a farewell tour around the U.K., the queen openly wept as the Band of HM Royal Marines played "Highland Cathedral."

"Looking back over 44 years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction," Queen Elizabeth II said. All clocks on the ship stopped at 15:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked from the yacht for the final time, and they would remain at that time until the present.

How to Tour the Royal Yacht Britania

Today the yacht is owned by Royal Yacht Britannia Trus t, and all revenue it generates goes to the yacht’s maintenance and preservation. Ticketed entry allows you to step into state rooms like the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room and State Drawing Room, in addition to the working side of the ship in the Crew’s Quarters, Laundry and gleaming Engine Room. Along the way you will see original artifacts from the shop—95 percent of which is on loan from The Royal Collection.

How to Visit the Royal Britania

You can visit the Britannia any day of the year on Edinburgh’s waterfront. Hours vary by season, and you can find them listed and purchase tickets on the yacht’s website . Private tours are also available, and you can visit the Royal Deck Tearoom, where the Royal Family hosted cocktail parties and receptions, for drinks, meals and scones. Additionally, the Britannia hosts special ticketed events for New Year’s and other occasions, and event spaces can be booked as well.

While you are in Edinburgh, you can also stay on the Fingal , a neighboring yacht-turned-floating-hotel, which is a seven-minute walk from the Britannia, and dine at its Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar, which serves breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner, and cocktails.

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The Royal Yacht Britannia : A History of Queen Elizabeth II’s Favorite Palace

By Lisa Liebman

The christening of The Royal Yacht Britannia serves as a cheeky season opener to  The Crown . Black-and-white Pathé News–style footage shows a soon-to-be-crowned Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy) cheered on by shipbuilders as she launches her new 412-foot yacht. “I hope that this brand-new vessel, like your brand-new queen, will prove to be dependable and constant. Capable of weathering any storm,” she says about the royal replacement for the  Victoria and Albert III . By the series’ season finale, set 44 years later, both the sovereign and the floating palace she christened  Britannia will have hit rough seas—the cost of repairing the creaky old vessel and the modern role of the monarchy both in question. Ultimately, the yacht that undertook 968 official voyages all over the world, hosting dignitaries—including 13 US presidents—at receptions and banquets, was dry-docked near Edinburgh, Scotland, where it continues to be a popular tourist attraction. Here are some of the most buoyant facts about the palace the Queen famously said was “the one place where I can truly relax.”

The sun room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981. 

In a nod to the country’s post-war austerity, Elizabeth scaled back the design of the ship that her father, King George VI, had commissioned just two days before he died. Rather than following the opulent plan laid out by the Scottish firm McInnes Gardner & Partners, she opted for the understated elegance envisioned by architect Sir Hugh Casson, who described “running a lawn mower over the Louis XVIl adornments” in favor of simple white walls, lilac-gray carpeting, and “a bit of gilding in grand places.” Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Phillip, were said to have personally chosen the furniture—much of it, including linens, recycled from the  Victoria and Albert —fabrics (florals, chintz, toile), and paintings. 

Prince Charles and Princess Diana on board the Royal Yacht Britannia as they prepare to depart on their honeymoon cruise in 1981.

As a former Royal Navy Commander, Prince Phillip also saw to the ship’s technical details, and his Bluebottle racing yacht inspired the Britannia ’s navy-hued hull. Outer decks were made of two-inch Burmese teak. The steering wheel was reclaimed from Britannia ’s namesake, King Edward VII’s 1893 racing yacht; a wheelhouse wheel came from George V’s racing yacht; and a gold-and-white binnacle (housing the ship’s compass) was salvaged from King George III’s yacht and installed on the Veranda deck. Fittings from former royal ships were also reused. 

The drawing room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1978. 

The 4,000-ton yacht had a crew of 220 Royal Yachtsmen who lived on board, about 45 household staff, and occasionally a 26-member Royal Marine embarked to entertain dignitaries. The monarch often welcomed guests from the ship’s grand staircase. (Stairs leading from the Veranda to the Royal deck were sometimes transformed into a water slide for the kids.)  Britannia ’s apartments were designed like those of a first-class ocean liner. A 56-seat state dining room, where many of the gifts given to the monarch (a wood-carved shark from Pitcairn Island, a bejeweled gold statue from Bangkok) were displayed, was the scene of formal dinners with guests such as Sir Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Nelson Mandela, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. More intimate gatherings were held in the Queen’s official reception room, a smaller state drawing room with floral upholstered pieces, simple wood tables, an electric fireplace, and a Welmar baby grand piano bolted to the deck—played by everyone from Sir Noël Coward to Princesses Diana and Margaret. The teak-clad sun lounge, with rattan furniture and a toile loveseat, was Elizabeth’s favorite place—where she had her breakfast, afternoon tea, and also enjoyed her favorite Dubonnet and gin cocktails.

The Queen’s sitting room on the Royal Yacht Britannia as photographed in 1981. 

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A ship elevator reserved for royal use moved between the Upper and Shelter Decks. The latter is where four Royal Apartments (bedrooms), including the Queen and Prince Phillip’s connecting compartments, were located. Hers featured florals, his had red accents. Elizabeth’s understated Upper Deck private sitting room, done in pastels and neutrals, served as the office where she conducted state business. Phillip used his sitting room, with its wood desk facing a model of his first command, the HMS Magpie , as his study. Below deck there was a wine cellar, as well as a cargo hold that could carry a barge, speed- and sailboats, plus a royal Range Rover and Rolls-Royce. The yacht could also be converted into a hospital (though it never was).

The Queen shed a tear at the decommissioning ceremony for thye Royal Yacht Britannia.

As depicted in  The Crown, Britannia ’s final official trip was to Hong Kong in 1997, where Prince Charles attended the handover of the territory to China. By then, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration was complaining that the £11 million a year needed to keep the boat afloat couldn’t be justified. With Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and all of their children in attendance,  Britannia was decommissioned at a ceremony in Portsmouth, England on December 11, 1997, with the monarch seen wiping away a tear. The yacht, now docked in Leith, Scotland, is open to the public as a museum and events space. (Prior to their wedding, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips’s daughter Zara Phillips and her fiancé Mike Tindall had a celebration there.) Visitors will note that every clock on board reads 3:01, the exact time the Queen disembarked her beloved  Britannia for the final time on that December day.

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Meet Princess Anne's husband Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence

The princess royal walked down the aisle with her husband in 1992.

Princess Anne has made a name for herself as Britain's hardest-working royal , and during her many engagements she can often count on her husband Sir Timothy Laurence to be by her side.

Timothy has been at the Princess Royal's side since they met during the 1980s. He has supported her through heavy moments during her life, including the deaths of her parents, Prince Philip and the late Queen . Timothy has also been there on numerous royal events, including engagements , garden parties and King Charles' coronation .

While the royal couple don't have children of their own, Timothy has proven to be quite the stepfather to Anne's children from her previous marriage, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall .

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Timothy always makes sure to never steal the spotlight from his royal wife, so what do you know of the former naval officer? Here's all you need to know…

Born on 1 March 1955, Timothy was the youngest of two sons for parents for Guy and Barbara Stewart. The Royal Navy already flowed through Timothy's blood as his father had served as a Commander.

Growing up with brother Jonathan, Timothy started his education at the New Beacon Preparatory School in Sevenoaks, before heading to Sevenoaks School. The military man finished his education at University College in Durham while on a naval scholarship, graduating with a second-class honours degree in geography.

After leaving university, Timothy joined the navy on 1 January 1973 at the rank of midshipman. Within two years he had been promoted to sub-lieutenant. His skills were plain to see and his next promotion came ten months ahead of schedule.

During the 1980s, he served as navigating officer for both the royal yacht HMY Britannia and HMS Sheffield before taking command of the patrol boat HMS Cygnet, which patrolled for IRA fighters.

In 1986 , he became an equerry for Princess Anne's mother, the late Queen, a position he held between 1986 and 1989 . After this, he became the commanding officer for HMS Boxer and in 1994 he became the first military assistant for the then Defence Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind.

The rest of his naval career came with further promotions through the ranks including Captain and Commodore and he finally became a Rear-Admiral in 2004.  In 2010, he resigned from the navy having served for 37 years .

Following his retirement from the navy, he started pursuing charitable and non-executive endeavours, with a key focus on property and regeneration. In 2023, he was appointed the chairman of the Science Museum Group which owns museums like London's Science Museum and York's National Railway Museum.

Meeting Princess Anne

It's believed that Anne and Sir Timothy first crossed paths when the naval officer was serving aboard the royal yacht  while an equerry to the late Queen. At the time, Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips, however the couple's marriage was beginning to show cracks.

In 1989,  The Sun obtained letters exchanged between Anne and Timothy, and passed them onto Scotland Yard. The personal letters were never published and Buckingham Palace confirmed Timothy as the author.

In a statement, they said: " The stolen letters were addressed to the Princess Royal by Commander Timothy Laurence, the Queen's Equerry. We have nothing to say about the contents of personal letters sent to Her Royal Highness by a friend which were stolen and which are the subject of a police investigation. "

Relationship with Anne

Following the end of her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips, Anne and Timothy became an official item and on  12 December 1992 they walked down the aisle  in Scotland . Scotland was chosen as the country's church allowed divorcees to remarry, while the Church of England forbid it at the time.

Anne and Timothy's wedding was attended by the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, Anne's two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the Queen Mother , Princess Margaret and Anne's younger brother, Prince Edward .

Although Anne and Timothy don't have children of their own, the former naval officer is a proud stepfather to Peter and Zara. When Zara competed in the Badminton Horse Trials in May 2024, the duo enjoyed a sweet embrace .

Like Anne's first husband,  Sir Timothy was offered a royal title upon his marriage to the Princess Royal, but he decided to turn this down . He was, however, made a Knight Commander in 2011.

Timothy clearly had a close bond with the rest of the royal family and was the only person of non-royal lineage on the Buckingham Palace balcony during the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations and Trooping the Colour.

Statements ahead of the event said only working royals would appear alongside Her Late Majesty, but added: " The Cambridge and Wessex children are also expected to appear as is Sir Tim Laurence, who the Queen is happy to attend as a frequent attendee and support for the Princess Royal on official engagements."

PHOTOS:  Princess Anne twins with husband Sir Timothy Laurence in matching £115 gifts from King Charles

MORE:  Princess Anne's husband Sir Timothy Laurence takes on impressive new role

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King Charles III: Monarch enjoys spot of rum in Royal Navy tradition with Royal Yacht Britannia sailors

The King joined former Royal Yacht Britannia sailors in reviving an old navy tradition – and drank a tot of rum.

Charles returned to the vessel the royal family called home at its dock in Leith in Scotland and reminisced with the men who kept things ship shape above and below deck before it was decommissioned in 1997. Standing on deck for the first time in more than 25 years, the King was toasted by the old sailors and returned the tribute, saying: ‘To all the marvellous Yachties who keep it all going, you are all brilliant.’

Sailors in the Royal Navy were issued with a daily ration of rum until 1970 when the practice came to an end, and the late Queen was the only person able to continue the alcoholic treat for Britannia’s seamen on special occasions with the words ‘splice the mainbrace’. A laugh went up before procedures began when someone dropped a glass, and after taking a sip of the drink – traditionally three measures – Charles puffed out his cheeks as the Pusser’s Rum – labelled gun powder proof – went down.

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The Association of Royal Yachtsman, formerly known as the Royal Yacht Britannia Association, is drawn from the men who worked on the royal ship during its 43 years at sea, and every year many return for a few days to give staff who maintain Britannia as a visitor attraction a helping hand. Mark Carron, 49, served on Britannia from 1994-98 doing a variety of tasks to keep the ship running smoothly and later became a policeman in his home county of Kent before taking early retirement.

He said after chatting to the King: ‘He said “I’ve always loved the smell of rum, it’s a unique smell”.’ Mr Carron added: ‘This was the place out of the public eye, they could relax and be themselves. On board Britannia that was their family time and it was our job to make their stay comfortable.’

Charles joined the Royal Navy some years after the end of free tots of rum and his career concluded with him commanding his own ship, the minehunter HMS Bronington, for the final 10 months of his active service ending in December 1976. Britannia travelled more than a million nautical miles around the world and became an integral part of the royal family’s ‘soft diplomacy’ power.

SEE ALSO: HMS Collingwood open day – in pictures

It was not only used for official overseas visits but was also part of royal family life, and was where Charles and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales spent part of their honeymoon and the Princess Royal travelled to the Galapagos Islands, with first husband Captain Mark Phillips, on their post-wedding holiday.

Former marine engineer Wiz Wiseman, 70, who worked in Britannia’s engine room during the early 1970s, described life on board for those who had fallen foul of the rules. He said: ‘There were two sanctions if you crossed the line, you either left Britannia but if you were only a naughty boy you would be expected to attend the church on Sunday – when Her Majesty did.’

Mr Wiseman added: ‘All the royal family could relax on board knowing nothing would be reported – what happened on Britannia stayed on Britannia.’

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