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Prince Harry, Prince William and More Royals With and Without Facial Hair — Which Look Reigns?

From full beards to dapper mustaches, royal men around the world have experimented with different looks

Stephanie Petit is a Royals Editor, Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE.

Prince Harry

Prince Hairy, perhaps? His red hair has always been his trademark, but Prince Harry has been experimenting with a beard since 2013 when he completed a charity trek to the South Pole with Walking With The Wounded. Despite shaving shortly after, Harry went back and has been sporting the facial hair for years, including his May 2018 royal wedding to Meghan Markle .

Prince William

Prince William is always clean-shaven, partially thanks to his time in the Royal Air Force where facial hair is forbidden, but there was one exception. He surprised royal fans when he joined his family for Christmas Day in 2008 with a bit of scruff, before he quickly went back to being facial hair free.

Prince Charles

William and Harry's dad has also grown out his beard for short stints. If you ask us, the beard look gives a strong resemblance to his younger son!

Prince Philip

Prince Philip always looked like a gentleman with a clean-shaven face, but he grew out his beard during a solo tour aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia on a voyage around the Commonwealth in 1965. The opportunity was perfect for Queen Elizabeth to play a prank on her husband.

"Knowing that he had grown a beard on his travels, the Queen had arranged for everyone in the royal entourage — herself included — to put on fake whiskers just before the Duke walked in," Robert Hardman said his book Queen of the World .

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

The son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia has rocked a beard for years, including at his royal wedding to Princess Sofia in June 2015. But behind his facial hair is a cute baby face!

Prince Haakon of Norway

Prince Haakon's beard is his go-to look, but he's not opposed to some change. At a gala dinner in honor of parents King Harald and Queen Sonja's 80th birthdays in 2017, he arrived with a beard and left without one! Photographer Heiko Junge told Hello! magazine that the royal had shaved "as part of the entertainment during the gala dinner."

King Felipe of Spain

Spain's king has been sporting a beard for years, even embracing it has he goes grey.

King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

The Netherlands' monarch started growing out his facial hair in 2017, and he must have liked the results: he stills rocks a beard!

James Middleton

Kate Middleton 's younger brother had been growing out his facial hair for so long that he realized his now-wife Alizee had never seen him without a beard. He decided to surprise her in 2020 by shaving ! A kiss confirmed she was a fan of the makeover.

Mike Tindall

Zara Tindall's husband has gone back and forth with a beard — luckily, he looks great either way.

Pierre Casiraghi

The grandson of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco looks dapper whether he's clean-shaven or sporting a beard (like he did while sailing across the Atlantic with Greta Thunberg).

Andrea Casiraghi

Another Casiraghi brother has also tried out a beard, looking dapper with or without.

Prince Felix of Luxembourg

The second son of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was sporting scruff for his 2013 civil ceremony ... but went beardless for the official wedding a few days later.

Prince Frederik of Denmark

The future monarch currently rocks a salt and pepper beard, but we can get behind his fresh face look too.

Prince Albert of Monaco

Usually clean-shaven, Prince Albert once experimented with a mustache in the style of his father Prince Rainier.

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Try the Kneipp Walk in the Spa at Seabourn, a soothing water therapy system with alternating baths of cold and warm water that provides healing remedies designed to enhance circulation.

Cruise ship spas: What to expect & what they cost

Taking time out in the spa at seabourn for some blissful pampering.

Patti Pietschmann

Los Angeles

CruiseClout score: 95.0

Here's a tip: Amp up your cruise vacation with a splurge at the spa on board (almost all midsize and large ships have them). While treatment prices have soared on ships — where most of the facilities are operated by one company called Steiner  — many cruise lines and travel companies like Cruiseable offer onboard spending credits , so why not use it to pamper yourself?

During any cruise I usually get at least one facial, one or two massages and, of course, a mani/pedi. If you’re a guy reading this, men do spas, too. My first mate Richard gets at least one facial and a rub on board at my insistence, but he’s always grateful afterward.

One of my favorite spots for a spa is on Seabourn Sojourn . On a recent Sojourn sailing, my spa experience went like this: “I knew I wanted to be in this business since I was 12 years old,“ Jodie Lasker, manager of the Spa at Seabourn , told me. The soft-spoken native of Melbourne , Australia, has worked in other shipboard spas such as the Lotus on Princess Cruises  and the spa on Oceania's Insignia . Nearly every spa afloat is operated by the omnipresent Steiner of Miami, and the company moves its personnel between the various ships.

“I hope to stay on the Sojourn because I really love it,” Jodie said. Spa business has been brisk on this voyage — not a surprise since there’s been little to see for six days except the wide expanse of the North Atlantic. It will be another three days before the first port stop in Funchal, Madeira. It’s kept Jodie and her staff busy. But she still had time to take me on a tour of what Seabourn claims is the largest spa on any small luxury liner.

The stunning facility features men’s and women’s locker rooms with saunas, showers, robes, slippers and Elemis toiletries, available to all passengers. However, an upstairs Thermal Suite Lounge is restricted to guests who book treatments or pay a $300 fee per couple to reserve it. Those who feel it’s worth the charge get to sit in the coed steam, detox in a heated “cleansing chamber,” wade around in the Kneipp therapy pool and relax in cushy chaises.

Back down a spiral staircase sits the stylish salon, which specializes in hair and nails, complete with well-designed rooms for treatments such as facials, massages, wraps and assorted indulgences.

Pricing varies widely, but a shipboard credit helps

The cost is somewhat pricey for today’s spas at sea, though prices vary widely, depending on the cruise line. Facials run as high as $325 for what’s described as a 75-minute “Seabourn 24 Karat Gold.” Less expensive options range from $129 for a 50-minute “Elemis Urban Cleanse for Men Facial,” to $149 for a 50-minute “ SkinCeuticals Regenerating Facial.”

Massages run the gamut from $132 for 50 minutes of Swedish movements to $213 for Thai style or Aromatherapy. A “Bamboo Elemis” rub proved divine for 50 blissful minutes, with a price tag of $169. For a full menu of services, go to  www.seabourn.com and look for “spa.”

The gorgeous salon, equipped with sexy, stylized equipment, doles out every grooming option for hair, body (waxing) and nails. Women who can’t survive without a good Shellac nail polish will be pleased to know it’s available as the “No Chip 14 Day manicure” for $49, a real deal, especially when applied by Lene Herselman.

The young South African woman goes above and beyond adding touches like a hand massage with Elemis Frangipani and lavender oils, along with some acrylic doctoring of broken nails, at no extra charge.

The Spa at Seabourn epitomizes quality time for self-indulgence, especially when one finds themselves with all the extra time of long, leisurely, laid-back days on this blissfully relaxing Seabourn voyage.

Every ship in Seabourn’s fleet — Sojourn, Seabourn Odyssey , Seabourn Quest  and the upcoming Seabourn Encore  — has a spa operated by Steiner with estheticians who have contracts for certain amounts of time. So don't get too attached to a particular esthetician (the odds are long that you'll spot her again), but do indulge in a spa treatment if you'd like to get refreshed and rejuvenated during your cruise vacation. 

In our series Wellness & Fitness

• 7 ways to keep fit on your next cruise
• 10 cruise lines for fitness buffs
• Cruise tips for slimmer sailings
• Top spas at luxury cruise lines
• Lotus Spa: Try a massage with bamboo, hot stones — or chocolate
• 12 reasons a cruise is a healthy vacation choice
• Seabourn amps up its wellness & fitness offerings
• Getting sick on a cruise ship

Patti Pietschmann I'm the LA Travel Diva and spend time cruising with first mate Richard, traveling the world, reviewing fine restaurants, going to plays, movies and events. It's the good life.

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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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Peterson: Royal Yacht, but stronger?

• Thread starter HadenB
• Start date Jun 22, 2023

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• Main category
• Pipe Tobacco Discussion
• Jun 22, 2023

Butter Side Down

Starting to get obsessed.

Oddly enough, I came at this one from the opposite direction. I recently bought a tin of Royal Yacht specifically because I was looking for an alternative to Irish Flake, Stirling Flake and Old Dark Fired that was a little lighter in nicotine. As my tin of RY hasn't been cracked open yet (too many other things open at the moment), I can't say for sure whether I achieved my goal or not. So I'll be following this one to see if people who have actual experience with it chime in.  

PA Piper Mike

Not sure since it's "a unique smoking blend." You could always just freight train 1/2 a bowl of Nightcap, then sit back on the yacht.  

I think Royal Yacht is going to be hard to find a close "match" for. HH Rustica will give you the Nic hit you desire but not the flavor.  

makhorkasmoker

Part of the furniture now.

I personally find the “Virginias” in RY to be similar to—and inferior to—those of some GH&co. blends, both in flavor and nic hit. The ones I’ve tried have entirely different toppings and the Smokey flavors of fired tobacco tho. But if I were looking for something with that imperial Virginia base, that’s where I’d explore  

I think the closest you're going to get would be to mix it with something strong but not topped. Five Brothers can be used like that. Again that's probably the closest you'll get.  

He's probably ready for Gawith.  

Can't Leave

anotherbob said: I think the closest you're going to get would be to mix it with something strong but not topped. Five Brothers can be used like that. Again that's probably the closest you'll get. Click to expand...

Actually I think I will get some FB and try that mix.  

Davy said: I think that's what @pipestud does for his morning smoke - 2/3 RY and 1/3 FB. Or something along these proportions. That must be a good morning wakeup smoke with coffee. Click to expand...

Not sure, but I've got around 20+ tins of the old Dunhill Royal Yacht with somewhere around 7-10+ years of age if anyone is interested. Shoot me a pm.  

• Jun 23, 2023

• Jun 25, 2023

• Jun 27, 2023

I've cracked open my tin now and had a few bowls. First off, wow! This is good stuff! I already love it and I can see why you'd be looking for more things like it. As far as the original question, after trying it myself now, I have a few fresh thoughts. Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to find much that's stronger in nicotine. I smoked unfiltered cigarettes for nearly 30 years, so the nicotine level of even the strongest pipe tobacco barely rises to a level where I even notice it. There are only a few where I feel that my monstrous nicotine craving/tolerance has been met or sated at the end of the experience. GH Brown "Happy" Bogie is up there. GH Dark Birdseye is up there. The old Irish Flake is up there. And now Royal Yacht is up there too. The one and only tobacco that's ever given me the spins is GH Dark Flake unscented when I smoked it in a very wide, very deep bowl. So maybe that's a tad stronger. Others have mentioned Five Brothers, I haven't had it myself but I hear that is pretty stout. Aside from that, I think you're going to have to pick up a pack of unfiltered Galoises. So maybe if you're looking for something as strong , but pretty different with regards to taste, try one of the Gawith Hoggarth options mentioned above. The flavor profiles of those are all pretty similar to each other so it doesn't really matter which you go with. They're all strong tobaccos with semi-sweet and spicy cigar-like overtones. Dark Birdseye is pre-cut, so it's the easiest to deal with. If you like the Royal Yacht topping (and I certainly do!), to me it hits somewhere right in the middle of Erinmore Flake and University Flake so those might be worth a go. Compared to RY, both provide a similar smoking experience, both have a similar flavor profile (yet different enough to justify having both), and both are a bit, though not greatly, lower in nicotine.  

Butter Side Down said: I've cracked open my tin now and had a few bowls. First off, wow! This is good stuff! I already love it and I can see why you'd be looking for more things like it. As far as the original question, after trying it myself now, I have a few fresh thoughts. Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to find much that's stronger in nicotine. I smoked unfiltered cigarettes for nearly 30 years, so the nicotine level of even the strongest pipe tobacco barely rises to a level where I even notice it. There are only a few where I feel that my monstrous nicotine craving/tolerance has been met or sated at the end of the experience. GH Brown "Happy" Bogie is up there. GH Dark Birdseye is up there. The old Irish Flake is up there. And now Royal Yacht is up there too. The one and only tobacco that's ever given me the spins is GH Dark Flake unscented when I smoked it in a very wide, very deep bowl. So maybe that's a tad stronger. Others have mentioned Five Brothers, I haven't had it myself but I hear that is pretty stout. Aside from that, I think you're going to have to pick up a pack of unfiltered Galoises. So maybe if you're looking for something as strong , but pretty different with regards to taste, try one of the Gawith Hoggarth options mentioned above. The flavor profiles of those are all pretty similar to each other so it doesn't really matter which you go with. They're all strong tobaccos with semi-sweet and spicy cigar-like overtones. Dark Birdseye is pre-cut, so it's the easiest to deal with. If you like the Royal Yacht topping (and I certainly do!), to me it hits somewhere right in the middle of Erinmore Flake and University Flake so those might be worth a go. Compared to RY, both provide a similar smoking experience, both have a similar flavor profile (yet different enough to justify having both), and both are a bit, though not greatly, lower in nicotine. Click to expand...

HadenB said: Thank you greatly!! I will look at getting some of those. Click to expand...

vosBghos said: Sadly since the "death to all that's nicotine "laws took over in EU Gauloises and Gitanes are no longer made with the beautiful black spicy nicotine dripping leaf now it's just like any other filterless brown okay smoke. The stoutest thing I ever smoked was the black German Schwarzer Krauser and though it is still mighty strong it's no longer black and is just a very Dark-Fired Kentucky. Actually, the closest thing I've had yet to that Gauloises flavor is G&H Kendal Dark, which you might want to try if you haven't. Another contender for good nicotine kick out of the G&H SG camp would be Mac Barren HH Rustica, smoke a big bowl of that and you'll get the same sweats as Kendal Unscented or 1792. ​ Click to expand...

PaulTheScandinavian

• Jun 28, 2023

1792 has a unique, strong flavoring, but it's about the same in strength as Royal Yacht. If you are looking to get wrecked, try a rope. They come with various toppings you might enjoy.  

Ship shape: 5 of the world’s most spectacular royal yachts

By Dora Davies-Evitt

The Dannebrog

This Danish royal yacht serves as an official and private residence for the Danish Queen and other members of the royal family when they are on summer cruises in home waters or on official visits overseas. Made in the naval work yard Orlogsvaerftet, Copenhagen, in 1931, the ship was baptised by Queen Alexandrine, the wife of King Christian X. The yacht has a rich history, with many decades of royalty aboard. King Frederick IX is known to have taken his showers on the boat's bridge, hosed down by a member of his team. It has been anchored in almost every port in Denmark, as well as Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and all the way to the coastline of the US; training around 30 Danish naval conscripts every year. Based on the design of the floating palaces of the XIX century, the Dannebrog is more than just a boat.

By Harriet Johnston

By Isaac Bickerstaff

The largest privately owned super yacht in the world, this 180-metre vessel was built for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, for use as a day boat to reach his favourite diving grounds. The boat can hold 36 guests and as many as 80 crew members - it also includes a gym, pool and a special ‘golf training room’. It is reported to have cost the sovereign approximately 600 million dollars. Filled with luxury, the engineers apparently worked to ensure that there is as little turbulence as possible, so that the chandeliers don’t tinkle at sea. Its record is soon to be beaten by a new yacht: the REV Ocean. A vessel which, at 183 metres, was designed by Norwegian millionaire Kjell Inge Rokke, and has been created to clean the ocean floors.

HMY Britannia 

HMS Britannia 

Built in 1953 for the late Queen Elizabeth II (who was crowned that same year), after 44 years of service the HMS Britannia was decommissioned and is now on display in Edinburgh. The vast and lavishly designed yacht has sailed over one million miles, accommodating 968 official royal visits. The regal vessel was once described by Queen Elizabeth as ‘the one place where I can truly relax’. The boat boasts dining rooms adorned with gifts from around the world, including a whale rib found by her husband on a beach, as well as a sun lounge with furniture chosen by the queen, and a garage built to house the royal Rolls-Royce. Sir Winston Churchill, Boris Yeltsin, Rajiv Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are among those who have joined the Queen on board over the years. Four royal honeymoons have also taken place aboard, including King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales's 16-day trip to the Mediterranean in 1981.

Le Norge is the pride of the Norwegian royal family, dating back to 1947. In 1905, after the Norwegians became independent from Sweden, they chose Prince Carl of Denmark as their monarch, proposing to him the yacht on his appointment. However, due to the difficult economic situation in Norway after the dissolution of the union with Sweden, King Haakon VII (formerly Prince Carl) did not call upon the Government to provide a yacht. Instead, the yacht was given as a gift from the people of Norway to their king decades later, purchased after the spread of a nationwide collection effort. The ship, which measures 80 metres in length is maintained by the Royal Norwegian Navy and sets sail during the summer months. It suffered a violent fire in 1985 while under maintenance, with only the shell and the motors saved from the incident. The impressive ship has since been entirely reconstructed. 

Owned by Princess Caroline of Hanover, Pacha III has been passed from hand to hand since it was first put on water in 1936, under the name Arlette II. The 36-metre-long boat has had very many owners: in 1940 it was requisitioned by the Royal Navy, when it went back to the Mediterranean coast under the name Priamar. And in the '50s it was bought by French industrialist Louis Renault, who renamed it Briseis. The yacht was then sold to the painter Bernard Buffet, in 1967, who moored it in Saint-Tropez, in front of the ever glamorous L'Escale restaurant. 

In 1990, by now in a depleted state, it was sold to Stefano Casiraghi and Caroline of Hanover, who had it entirely renovated. Casiraghi was never able to enjoy the yacht, however, after he died during a racing accident that same year. It reportedly took more than two years to restore the vessel to its former splendour and renamed Pacha III (in reference to the initials of Princess Caroline’s children). It is now primarily used to take the Hanover Royal Family on extended Mediterranean escapes. 

By Isaac Zamet

By Ollie Macnaughton

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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 Hannah Coates

By Kiana Murden

“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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A New Royal Yacht Is Coming

• By Phil Draper
• January 7, 2022

There are yachts, and there are superyachts, but royal yachts tend to be something else again. The United Kingdom hasn’t had a royal yacht for almost 25 years, but the British government just announced its intention to replace Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia .

No firm details have been released of what this replacement could be, but design proposals were recently invited. Time is of the essence, given that the official policy statement came with a proposed launch date just three years away.

The open brief suggests that what is needed now is less yacht, more national ship—a world-first build. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he sees the vessel as more of a floating embassy to support royals and government ministers alike.

That concept is broadly familiar. During its 44-year service life as a ship of state, Britannia racked up more than 1 million nautical miles and 696 foreign visits. Every itinerary was about promoting the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and trade promotion was always a part of the job description. For instance, Britannia made several trips to the United States, including both coasts and Chicago via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Various presidents and their wives were guests aboard, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

But what defines a royal yacht?

It’s not just about scale, although the eight-deck, all-steel Britannia was one of the biggest yachts in the world when it launched. It was built at Scotland’s John Brown and Co. of Clydebank, the same yard that built the ocean liners RMS Queen Elizabeth and RMS Queen Mary . Britannia entered service in January 1954, one year after Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Her late husband, Prince Philip, was a former naval officer and enthusiastically oversaw Britannia’s specification and construction.

The yacht, beyond its routine duties, could rapidly convert to a 200-bed hospital ship or an offshore refuge for the royal family in case of nuclear war. Britannia is 412 feet length overall, has a 55-foot beam and measures 5,862 gross tons. Thanks to two turbine sets producing up to 12,000 hp, Britannia was capable of a continuous 21 knots throughout its service years.

Those were the days when a yacht of that size was unusual: There are now almost 30 giga-yachts afloat with more gross tonnage than Britannia . Only a quarter of them have any obvious royal affiliations.

But in its day, Britannia was an operation to behold. The yacht was home to 21 officers and 256 sailors of the British Royal Navy and could host functions with 250 guests. The staterooms and staff quarters were aft, and the crew were forward. The yacht’s complement included a Royal Marines guard detachment in separate onboard barracks, a 26-strong military band, and a full general surgery team with an operating theater. The permanent noncommissioned crew were known affectionately as the “yotties.”

Britannia was where the most senior members of the royal family stayed when on suitable official visits. It was not where they would normally spend vacations, although Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously used Britannia for a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean. They had the yacht’s only double bed installed aboard.

As for Britannia’s successor, various sources have quoted ballpark figures for the build in the low hundreds of millions of dollars. The final specification will depend on how much space is practical for conference and entertainment areas, the number of guest staterooms, the crew complement, helicopter use, tenders, provisions, technology, and security. Johnson also says he wants the vessel to incorporate cutting-edge green technologies and showcase best practices with regard to sustainability.

The new yacht is expected to have a service life of at least 30 years. Given that trillions of dollars’ worth of trade deals were reportedly secured aboard Britannia , the cost for that lifespan is not expected to be a concern.

Construction could start as early as next year, following consultations with the royal family, the Royal Navy and various government departments. The vessel will officially be the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and classified as if it were a warship.

Floating History

Now retired, royal yacht Britannia lies permanently in Edinburgh, Scotland. This vessel has been one of the Scottish capital’s most popular tourist draws for more than 25 years. It is open daily and sees more than 1,000 visitors a day. Guided tours take in all areas, including a view into the queen’s bedroom, private sitting rooms, state dining room and drawing rooms, sun lounge and veranda, bridge, crew decks, and engine room.

The First Royal Yacht

The wooden wheel aboard Britannia came from the only other royal yacht to bear the name, the much older 122-foot gaff-rigged cutter Britannia . Built for Prince Albert Edward, who later became King Edward VII, it was famously campaigned at big-boat

regattas by him and his son, King George V. The yacht launched in spring 1893 and was a near-sister to Valkyrie II , which unsuccessfully challenged the Nathanael Greene Herreshoff-built Vigilant for the America’s Cup that same year. Both Valkyrie II and Britannia

were designed by George Lennox Watson and built at the D&W Henderson Shipyard in Scotland. Following George V’s death and per his wishes, the vessel was stripped of its spars and fitting, and scuttled in deep water off England’s South Coast on July 10, 1936.

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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 pound 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. 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.)

By Alice Newbold

By Jeanne Ballion

By Hannah Coates

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. 

“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, 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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In Moscow’s Technological Advances, a ‘Double-Edged Sword’

The latest example is Face Pay, which replaces a Metro card with facial recognition. It may be advanced, but activists are sounding the alarm on privacy issues.

By Celestine Bohlen

The Moscow Metro — a world-class marvel of efficient mass transportation since it opened in 1935 — made headlines last month with a very 21st-century innovation: a payment system that doesn’t require passengers to produce a ticket, a transit card, a smartphone or a contactless bank card. All they have to do is show their face.

By Oct. 15, the facial recognition system, called Face Pay, was up and running at about 240 stations on the Moscow Metro, a sprawling and constantly expanding system famous for its on-time track record and its grandiose and ornate stations.

Moscow city officials were quick to tout the system’s latest technological innovation, one of several over the last decade. “There are no analogues of Face Pay in terms of quality and ease of use for a passenger anywhere in the world,” said Maksim Liksutov, deputy mayor for transport.

To activate Face Pay, passengers must connect their photo with a bank card and the Metro’s Troika, or transit card, via a special mobile app. Once connected, a camera at the turnstiles identifies their faces (even with masks on) and opens the gates. In theory, it should take two to three seconds for a passenger to clear the turnstile, easing the crush of people at peak rush hours.

It is one of the most visible — and controversial — of the city’s projects to modernize its services, one that takes full advantage of advancing biometric technology and the skills of a new generation of Russian computer engineers. “The technology is new and very complex, we will continue to work on improving it,’’ said Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, in a statement.

But digital privacy activists in Russia were quick to raise the alarm, noting that the new system is not just about improving service on the Moscow Metro. “It is a good pretext to put cameras at the turnstiles,’’ said Artyom Koslyuk, a director at Roskomsvoboda, a digital rights group based in Moscow. “This will allow them to perfect the algorithms used for the recognition of faces.’’

According to Mr. Koslyuk, Moscow ranks third in the world for the most surveillance on streets and public transport, with some 200,000 cameras placed around the city and on the Metro to help police identify criminals and prevent crime. Russian police have already used facial recognition to find and arrest demonstrators who participated in peaceful opposition protests.

The two other countries that have gone ahead with facial recognition payment systems are China and Belarus, where privacy rights are also of little concern to the government. (In Belarus, the facial recognition system on the Minsk metro is called Look and Go.) In contrast, the European Parliament voted last month in favor of a nonbinding resolution to ban use of facial recognition technology in public places for police purposes.

Moscow officials have tried to calm concerns about privacy invasion by insisting that the images and data collected are “securely encrypted.’’ Roskomsvoboda, though, said they have uncovered evidence that the system is porous, vulnerable to intruders who can use the data and images for criminal purposes.

Privacy advocates are pushing for a more transparent system of control for this and other advanced, and often intrusive, technologies. “We need to be sure that all these innovations are used to help the people, not harm them,’’ said Mr. Koslyuk.

Face Pay is part of a broader set of efforts in the city to institute technological solutions. Moscow is undoubtedly Russia’s “smartest” city, not least because it is the nation’s capital, and a focus of government attention. Its 12.5 million people make it the second most populous city in Europe — and it is growing. Between 2002 and 2010, while Russia’s population decreased by 1.2 percent, Moscow’s grew by 10.9 percent. And the average wage in the capital is almost double the national average.

The capital also gets royal treatment from the federal government. In 2019, Moscow’s urban renewal budget equaled that of the rest of the country.

“Moscow has the power in terms of finance and budgets,’’ said Sergei Kamolov, a professor at the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations. “Moscow is in the avant-garde, a test case for all different kinds of systems.’’

Two years ago, Russia adopted its own system for ranking its “smart cities,” measuring what is called their “I.Q. level.” This provides benchmarks for cities to measure progress in putting modern techniques and digital services in place for their population. Mr. Kamolov said these are useful tools to pressure local officials to meet targets set in a national “Smart Cities” program.

Mr. Kamolov, who is member of a working group on the “Smart Cities” program, cautions that its ideas and technologies are not easily duplicated from city to city. Nor, he said, do fancy new technologies necessarily have an impact on the citizens’ quality of life. “It seems to me that ‘Smart Cities’ is a deep marketing concept,’’ he said in a telephone interview.

In recent years, Russia has put a major nationwide effort into its e-government services. Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Russia developed a system of e-visas, allowing tourists to come into the country for a limited time and for limited purpose. And like many countries, it has developed a popular online government portal — known as Gosuslugi , a one-stop website where citizens can retrieve documents, pay fines and make appointments. In a 2020 United Nations e-government survey , Russia’s services ranked 36th out of 193 countries.

In this, as in other areas, Moscow leads the way. More Muscovites use Gosuslgi proportionately than any other region of Russia — not surprising given its concentration of young, educated and computer literate people. But other regions are stepping up efforts to catch up, by offering special courses for computer literacy , especially for the elderly.

Moscow and six other regions were also used as a test case for Russia’s experiment with online voting in last September’s parliamentary elections. The system was challenged by democracy protesters, who described it as a “black box” that allowed the government to fiddle with the vote. Setting aside the contested results — a huge caveat, to be sure — online voting did its job, at least on a technical level.

Moscow has introduced other digital services in health care, in schools and in the legal system, but transportation continues to receive a hefty share of the city’s modernization budget.

According to Mr. Kamolov, Moscow has the largest fleet of electronic buses in Europe while the Metro — which now moves about six million passengers on weekdays (down from more than eight million in the pre-Covid era) — still commands a large portion of public funds: $27 billion for expansion and improvement from 2011 to 2022 , most of it for expansion but some of it undoubtedly for the facial recognition system that is now expected to be introduced in other Russian cities.

At Roskomsvoboda, Mr. Koslyuk says the key to introducing advanced digital services that depend on personal data is trust. ‘‘We need to be sure there are controls,’’ he said. “These improvements can be a double-edged sword.”

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

• 20th Century

10 Facts About Royal Yacht Britannia

Peta Stamper

28 nov 2022.

The 83rd and last in a long line of royal yachts, HMY Britannia has become one of the most famous ships in the world. Now permanently moored at Edinburgh’s Port of Leith, the floating palace is a visitor attraction welcoming some 300,000 people aboard each year.

For Queen Elizabeth II, Britannia was the ideal residence for state visits and peaceful royal family holidays and honeymoons. For the British public, Britannia was a symbol of Commonwealth. For the 220 naval officers who lived aboard Britannia , and the royal family, the 412-foot-long yacht was home.

Having travelled more than a million nautical miles over 44 years of service to the British Crown, Her Majesty’s beloved boat was decommissioned in 1997. Here are 10 facts about life aboard HMY Britannia.

1. Britannia was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953 using a bottle of wine, not champagne

Champagne is traditionally smashed against a ship’s hull during launching ceremonies. However, in a post-war climate champagne was seen as too frivolous, so a bottle of Empire wine was used instead.

Britannia launched from the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland.

2. Britannia was the 83rd Royal Yacht

King George VI , Elizabeth II’s father, had first commissioned the royal yacht that would become Britannia in 1952. The previous official boat had belonged to Queen Victoria and was rarely used. The tradition of royal yachts had been started by Charles II in 1660.

George decided that the Royal Yacht Britannia should both be a regal vessel as well as a functional one.

3. Britannia had two emergency functions

Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, although that function was never used. Additionally, as part of the Cold War plan Operation Candid, in the event of nuclear war the ship would become a refuge off the north-west coast of Scotland for the Queen and Prince Philip.

4. Her maiden voyage was from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour in Malta

She carried Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at the end of the royal couple’s Commonwealth tour. The Queen stepped aboard Britannia for the first time in Tobruk on 1 May 1954.

Over the next 43 years, Britannia would transport the Queen, members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on some 696 foreign visits.

The HMY Britannia on a visit by the Queen to Canada in 1964

Image Credit: Royal Canadian Navy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

5. Britannia hosted some of the 20th century’s most notable figures

In July 1959, Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway to Chicago where she docked, making the Queen the first British monarch to visit the city. US President Dwight Eisenhower hopped aboard Britannia for part of the journey.

In later years, Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton would also step aboard. Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, took their honeymoon cruise on Britannia in 1981.

6. The crew were volunteers from the Royal Navy

After 365 days’ service, crew members could be admitted to the Permanent Royal Yacht Service as Royal Yachtsmen (‘Yotties’) and serve until they either chose to leave or were dismissed. As a result, some yachtsmen served on  Britannia  for over 20 years.

The crew also included a detachment of Royal Marines, who would dive underneath the ship each day while moored away from home to check for mines or other threats.

7. All royal children were allocated a ‘Sea Daddy’ on board the ship

The ‘sea daddies’ were primarily tasked with looking after the children and keeping them entertained (games, picnics and water fights) during voyages. They also oversaw the children’s chores, including cleaning the life rafts.

8. There was a ‘Jelly Room’ onboard for the royal children

The yacht had a total of three galley kitchens where Buckingham Palace ‘s chefs prepared meals. Among these galleys was a chilled room called the ‘Jelly Room’ for the sole purpose of storing royal children’s jellied desserts.

9. It cost around £11 million every year to run Britannica

The cost of running Britannia was always an issue. In 1994, another expensive refit for the ageing vessel was proposed. Whether or not to refit or commission a new royal yacht entirely came down to the election result of 1997. With repairs at a proposed cost of £17 million, Tony Blair’s new Labour government were unwilling to commit public funds to replace Britannica.

HMY Britannia in 1997, London

Image Credit: Chris Allen, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

10. All the clocks on board remain stopped at 3:01pm

In December 1997,  Britannia was officially decommissioned. The clocks have been kept at 3:01pm – the exact moment the Queen went ashore for the last time following the ship’s decommissioning ceremony, during which the Queen shed a rare public tear.

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The true story of the Royal Yacht Britannia from The Crown Season 5

What really happened to the floating palace?

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Season 5 of The Crown calls the Royal Yacht Britannia the Queen’s favourite home as viewers watch the family try to save the floating palace. But what really happened to the royal yacht and what did the royal family truly think of it?

• After watching The Queen and her family fight to save their Royal Yacht, Britannia, the Crown's fifth season has viewers wondering what happened to the real Royal Yacht
• Using commentary from biographers, we break down how much of The Crown's storyline is based on fact and which parts are completely made up
• In other royal news , The Crown fans spot awkward blunder in season 5 - did you notice it?

The blurring of fact and fiction in Netflix 's The Crown has viewers once again asking if its portrayal of royal life is true to fact, slightly exaggerated or completely made up. This time the speculation surrounds the story of the royal yacht, the Britannia.

Season five uses the yacht as a heavy-handed metaphor, with questions about the costly repairs needed to keep the ageing Britannia up to par are presented alongside questions about whether the ageing queen, who is then 65-years-old, is too old for her role.

Clearly the narrative here is used to enhance the storytelling, but there is a lot of truth behind the quarrels over the royal family's beloved yacht. 

There is a real Royal Yacht Britannia, and, just like in the show, the young queen announced its name and christened it with a bottle of Empire wine. In it's 44 years of service, the Britannia was used for state visits and receptions, hosting Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton as well as Boris Yeltsin and Nelson Mandela, and was also used for royal family holidays and honeymoons. 

When civil war broke out in South Yemen in 1986, the yacht was even rerouted to help evacuate civilians.

In The Crown, the yacht is presented as the queen’s favourite “home,” a fact that real-life biographers agree with. In his book Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman explains, “There were few places where the Queen would be happier.”

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The ship, though served by a huge crew of 220, was a haven for the royal family to relax and escape the scrutinising eye of the public. According to The Washington Post, Hugh Casson, who designed the interior, once said, “the overall idea was to give the impression of a country house at sea.”

The Crown episode centres around whether the Queen lobbied the then Prime Minister, John Major, for the government to pay for the boats extensive repairs while the country was facing a tough recession. 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 real-life John Major called the show’s portrayal of his conversations with the Queen “a barrel-load of nonsense.” But Robert Lacey, a historical consultant on The Crown, defended the depiction. 

Speaking to The Washington Post, he argued that the subject of the yacht would have undeniably come up between the Queen and the PM, who met once a week to discuss matters of state. He said, “She certainly spoke about it to the prime minister. Obviously, the royal family would have lobbied for it. The queen did want another royal yacht.”

Robert Hardman, the royal biographer, also gave his opinion on the matter, saying that the Queen would 'no doubt' have been interested in repairs or even a replacement for the yacht, but that she would not have “leaned on her prime ministers for money.” A letter written in 1994 by the queen’s deputy private secretary that was sent to the cabinet office, and was uncovered in 2018, backs up Hardman's opinion. 

So what happened to the Britannia? John Major’s government decided against paying for the 44-year-old ship's repairs and, after a final voyage abroad to Hong Kong and a farewell tour of Britain, a decommissioning ceremony took place in Portsmouth on December the 11th, 1997. 

The ship’s clocks stopped, the Royal Marines band played and, according to Robert Lacey, “the only time the queen was seen to cry was when the royal yacht was decommissioned.”

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• Princess Diana’s private secretary Patrick Jephson fact-checks The Crown Season 5 and shares what “was made up”
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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer for Goodto.com. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.

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By Ellie Hutchings Published 19 March 24

"Never, ever schedule sex"

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Pregnancy Spa Treatments

Treating mums-to-be at spa sirene.

June 06, 2018

Looking after yourself is so important during pregnancy, your body is constantly evolving with physical changes. Our pregnancy treatments have all been designed to be completely safe and effective for our mums-to-be.

Pregnancy massage is an excellent safe, gentle and holistic way to help with some of the aches and pains that may arise. We use our customised pregnancy pillow for our ‘ Oh Baby Massage ‘ and use safe oils and gentle movements to ease away tension and discomfort in those problem areas. 

‘Oh Baby Massage’ | 75 Minutes / Cost £90

There are said to be many benefits of pregnancy massage including:

• reducing stress hormones

rejuvenating energy levels as it gives you an opportunity to rest and completely relax

For some pregnant women, massage can relieve nausea and heartburn. In others, it can make these worse though.

Relieves the everyday discomforts of pregnancy such as an aching neck, sore back, and heaviness in the pelvic bones, leg cramps, swelling of the ankles and feet and oedema (fluid retention).

Improved sleep due to feeling less muscle tension and generally less uncomfortable.

(Source: Huggies )

We do not recommend any treatments within the first tri-mester of pregnancy. 

Mellow Mama Facial | 75 mins / Cost £90

Take some mellow moments before your baby is born and try our relaxing ‘ Mellow Mama ‘ Facial to look after your skin during pregnancy. The marine ingredients help to restore the skin’s healthy balance, leaving you with an incredible sense of calm…

Call and chat to our friendly team on 01534615425 or email: [email protected]

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