When was britannia built

Prince Philip's will to be kept a secret to protect Queen's 'dignity', High Court rules. The yacht would be expected to sail across the world and be used to promote British trade and interests overseas - including by hosting meetings.

He said: "A new national flagship proudly bearing the name of Prince Philip can be no better memorial to this much-loved and respected man. I am overjoyed. Since being decommissioned in December , HMY Britannia has been berthed at Edinburgh and used as a tourist attraction. One of the last fully-riveted ships to be built with a remarkably smooth painted hull, she was finally ready to be launched on 16 April, The ship's name was a closely guarded secret, only being revealed when The Queen smashed a bottle of Empire wine Champagne was considered too extravagant in post-war Britain and announced to the expectant crowds "I name this ship Britannia… I wish success to her and all who sail in her".

You can read more about getting Britannia ready for Royal service by downloading Letters from a Fish to his Admiral below , a series of notes and letters written by Acting Captain J S Dalglish, the Officer in charge of commissioning Britannia. John Brown continued as a shipyard until they sadly closed in After the launch, Britannia's building work continued as her funnel and masts were installed, before beginning sea trials on 3 November off the West Coast of Scotland.

On successful completion, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 11 January During 44 years in Royal service Britannia sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, calling at over ports in countries, including the United States of America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Britannia was an ideal Royal honeymoon venue.

The Royal Yacht was very private and could sail to secluded locations. As well as hosting state functions, Britannia was an ambassador for British business, promoting trade and industry around the globe. At on 17 January , the Yacht dropped anchor at Khormaksar Beach.

The interiors were ultimately redesigned by Sir Hugh Casson and received very minimal updates throughout her 44 years of service. Suffice to say that even low-key royal living is a fairly high class.

In addition to the seat State Dining Room, which hosted luminaries including Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Nelson Mandela, and multiple US Presidents, the ship also sported a formal staircase where the Queen would greet guests, separate bedrooms and sitting rooms for both Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh, and a phone system designed to match the unique configurations of Buckingham Palace's telephones. In the early years of the Britannia's life it was also home to the Queen's Rolls-Royce Phantom V which was hoisted and lowered from a special garage compartment at port so that the Queen could drive her own car at each location.

The space was ever so slightly too small, forcing the bumpers to be removed in order to get it into the garage without damage and then refitted when the car was removed. Ultimately Elizabeth began using cars provided for her at port instead and the garage was converted into a storage area for beer.

Life on board the HMY Britannia was far from typical for her crew. To begin with, due to the prestige and pressure of the position, the commanding officer of the royal yacht was always a flag officer, most commonly a Rear Admiral, although the first two to serve were Vice Admirals and Britannia 's final CO was a Commodore.

While working, the crew reportedly used hand signals to communicate rather than shouting orders, in order to maintain a sense of quiet and calm for the royal residents. It was also the last ship in the royal navy where the crew members slept in hammocks, a practice that they maintained until Perhaps the most unusual element of the ship's functioning, though, was the steering. While on most ships, the steering wheel sits on the bridge, overlooking the front of the vessel, Britannia 's was on the deck below in the wheelhouse, which meant that the yachtsmen who were actually doing the steering couldn't see where they were going.

The crew got around this rather surprising pitfall by using voice pipes from the bridge to confer navigational orders. No fewer than four royal couples celebrated their honeymoons in the HMY Britannia 's honeymoon suite the only room onboard with a double bed.

Princess Margaret started the tradition in for her Caribbean honeymoon with Anthony Armstrong-Jones , a quiet, formal affair where dinners were taken in full evening dress every night. Things didn't go quite as smoothly for Princess Anne on her honeymoon with Captain Mark Phillips in —storms and foot waves left the couple stricken with seasickness for the first week of their Caribbean cruise.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously spent their honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the yacht. The crew managed to duck the press so efficiently they garnered the nickname "the ghost ship. In addition to her diplomatic duties on royal tours and her service as a post-wedding retreat, the Britannia was also a vessel for family vacations.

During the summer months, the royal family would often take off on what became known as the aptly named Western Isles tour, cruising around the western isles of Scotland. During the trip, the family would play games and have barbecues on the islands.