photo: Tony Hisgett
By Jim Ferri
A member of the British Parliament has just suggested that Queen Elizabeth be given a new yacht to mark this year’s diamond Jubilee.
A new yacht? What’s wrong with the old one?
I guarantee you the Royal Yacht Britannia is still in very good condition. All of its 400+ feet are spiffy and polished and ship-shape without a bit of rust. The kind of ship National Geographic would lust for to take you on a 10-day tour to see penguins on ice floes or pirates in Somalia or some other place.
All of this is not just frivolous tabloid gossip by the way. I saw it with my very own eyes when I went aboard it in Edinburgh, Scotland. There I found it docked, in of all places, in a shopping center. Obviously, some Scottish shopping centers are built along the water.
I spent that Thursday morning in the Ocean Terminal shopping center, wandering through the shops for about a half-hour while waiting for the Britannia’s visitor’s center’s to open. At 10:00am sharp I bolted from the men’s shirt department in Debenham’s and took the elevator to the third-floor center, which I found pretty interesting since it provides a lot of information about the yacht’s 44-year-old history.
One thing that fascinated me was a chart with the ship’s timeline, which began with its maiden voyage to Malta and Gibraltar in 1954, and ended with an around-the-world farewell tour in 1997. If you think about it, that was truly a cutting-edge event since The Rolling Stones didn’t launch their A-T-W Farewell Tour for more than decade later.
Leaving the center I realized that it had been put on the third floor because you board the ship on the bridge deck and then work your way down five levels to the engine room via a self-guided audio tour. Unfortunately, since I had to get back into the city, I wasn’t able to see the engine room or the onboard garage where the Queen kept her Rolls-Royce.
I did wander all over the rest of the ship though, poking in here and there as much as I could, although a lot of areas were cordoned off and there were Plexiglas panels in the wardroom and galley to keep you from pinching the silverware.
It was then, as I wandered about the upper decks, that I discovered Britannia’s little secret — the Queen and Prince Philip have separate bedrooms. (I’m sorry to be the one to break the news to you if you’re British).
It wasn’t the only surprise. A little while later, as I continued about the ship, I was amazed at the size of the dining room, which can very comfortably seat about 100 guests. I then began to understand why it took a crew of 220 to run the whole thing.
Moving further aft I stumbled into the Sun Lounge, said to be the Queen’s favorite room and where she would take her breakfast and afternoon tea. Beyond it I found the Veranda Deck, which was so large you could use it to play half-court basketball, although I was assured it was often tented and used instead for royal cocktail receptions. Still though, I think the idea of skins vs. shirts out in the middle of the Mediterranean or Indian Ocean may have merit.
Based on scuttlebutt I gleaned about Britannia, I’m assuming that British sailors must be a rowdy bunch since they were forbidden to shout on-board. To preserve the peace and quiet for the Queen, all orders were given through special hand signals.
Oh, and one other secret. On the spot on the deck where the Queen stood to wave to onshore crowds while entering or departing port, a special windbreak was built so the wind wouldn’t blow her skirt up.
If you go:
The Royal Yacht Britannia
Ocean Terminal
Leith
Edinburgh, Scotland
Tel. +44 (0)131 555 5566
http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/
Entry fee: £11.75 adult / £10 senior (60+)
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