Photo Diary Inside The Royal Yacht Britannia

Royal Yacht Britannia.

With all this talk of Royal weddings, I thought that today we’d visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Royal Yacht Britannia served the Royal Family from 1954 until it was decommissioned in 1997. It traveled over 1,000,000 during that time span. But you may already know those facts. Indeed, it’s likely that you do if you’ve toured through the part one of the tour or if you were along for the part two of the tour, which mainly encompassed the bridge of the yacht and the views from the yacht.

Today, we’re going inside the Royal Yacht Britannia.

 

Inside the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The entrance to the Sun Lounge is located beside the bell and binnacle that I shared in the photo tour from the bridge. You then follow the cordoned areas along and get to view the Royal bedrooms. It’s interesting when I look back at what I actually chose to capture because I can see that I had my Thursday Door  friends in mind.

The door between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s Bedrooms.

I was not enamored at capturing shots through glass. Interior shots are still a technical area that I am working on. Then you add glare…and oh my! However, I did love this door, with its floral parts, that was located between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s bedrooms.

Yes. You read that right. They have separate bedrooms on the Britannia and a door adjoining the two. When I saw that I was reminded of a story that the salesman told when the hubby and I finally went mattress shopping last year. He told us that an elderly couple had recently been in to look at mattresses. The wife asked the salesman if he wanted to know the secret to a long marriage. He, of course, said “sure!”. She told him it was separate beds.

Perhaps the Queen has found the secret is separate bedrooms as well.

Prince Philip’s Bedroom.

In case you are wondering, both the Queen and the Prince have twin beds. The audio tour does go into detail about the linens. Much of it was recycled from linen originally purchased by Queen Victoria and used on a prior yacht. Queen’s Elizabeth’s bedspread is florally patterned, while you can see in the above photograph that Prince Philip’s is a solid red.

I’m sure that these quarters are probably considered large since this is a royal ship after all. I have never been on a cruise so I have seen nothing for comparison.

If you’ve ever been on a cruise ship, tell me if this room would be considered large.

Honeymoon Suite

Across from Queen Elizabeth’s and Prince Philip’s bedrooms is the Honeymoon Suite.  The Honeymoon Suite has been used for four Royal Honeymoons. It was used in 1960 by Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones. It was used again in 1973 by Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. Then it was used in 1981 by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Prince Charles had the double bed installed for his and Princess Diana’s honeymoon. It is the only double bed on board. The final honeymoon on the Royal Yacht Britannia was the Duke and Duchess of York in 1986.

While I chose to use the mirror to reflect the closet and to also include the dressing table, I’m so glad that my mom captured the image above. I was able to crop out the mirror so you didn’t have to stare at us.

I’d love to think that many beautiful memories were made in this space. However, with regards to the double bed being added, a letter from Princess Diana has made it seem as though that honeymoon was filled with less than beautiful memories. The letter has made it to public auction. I’m not really sure why somebody’s private thoughts are deemed necessary to be made public, but I guess that’s the downfall of having lived in the public spotlight.

State Drawing Room.

The state drawing room was the Royal Family’s main relaxation room. Located in the drawing room is a baby grand piano. To keep it from moving in stormy seas, the piano was bolted to the floor.

Engine Room.

While I do have many photos from the quarters below deck, today I’m sharing a few from the engine room. The engine room was kept in pristine condition. In fact, according to the Royal Yacht Britannia website, the Queen was fond of the engine room and would often take guests down to see it after dinner.

Emergency Door.

I just love a good, strong door with lots of character. Don’t you? This emergency door fits the bill in the character department. Wouldn’t you agree?

Porthole.

I also love portholes and the ropes that you find on sea cruising vessels.

So here you go!

Royal Yacht Britannia’s Royal Barge.

You can also see the Royal Yacht Britannia’s Royal Barge while on the tour.

Yottie Statue.

Lastly, I wanted to share the Yottie Statue.  The Royal Yachtsmen working aboard the Britannia were affectionately called “Yotties”. Commissioned by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, this bronze sculpture is a tribute to the Officers and Royal Yachtsmen. The “model” was Ellis “Norrie” Norrell, the longest serving Royal Yachtsman, with nearly 34 years of service.

I think that it the statue is a wonderful acknowledgment that it takes a dedicated, hardworking crew to make for “smooth sailing”.

 

Let your light shine!

Amy