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HMS Britannia: 10 facts about Queen Elizabeth's former royal yacht

From humanitarian missions to hosting royal honeymoons, the HMS Britannia has a fascinating history serving the British Royal Family for over four decades. When she was decommissioned in 1997, Queen Elizabeth II shed a tear in a rare display of emotion. The occasion marked the end of long succession for royal yachts dating back to the reign of Charles II. As the country prepares to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee, we remember her beloved Britannia .

1. Britannia was launched in 1953

Britannia was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her father and was launched from John Brown & Co. Ltd - the shipyard that built the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary cruise liners - in 1953. However, there was to be no traditional Champagne-smashing against her bow. In a post-war Britain, Champagne was considered too extravagant so instead, a bottle of Empire wine was selected to do the honours at her official launch ceremony.

2. There are three masts on board

Unlike her predecessors, Britannia possessed a more modern profile with a clipper bow and cruiser stern. The ship was designed with three masts: a 41-metre foremast, a  42-metre mainmast, and 36 metre mizzenmast. The last six metres of the main mast were placed on a hinge so she could pass under bridges.

3. Britannia logged over one million nautical miles

Between family vacations and official tours, Britannia logged over one million nautical miles, which roughly equates to one trip around the world for each of her 44 years in service.

4. The wheel was inherited

The ship’s wheel was taken from King Edward VII’s racing yacht, a 37-metre gaff-rigged cutter also named Britannia . She was a near sistership to Valkyrie II which challenged for the 1893 America's Cup, and won over 230 races in her lifetime. At the end of her life she was stripped of her spars and fittings - the wheel was saved and fitted on Britannia

5. The engine room was hyper-clean

The engine room was hyper-clean  Rumour has it that the engine room on Britannia was kept in such pristine condition that any visitors were made to wipe their feet on a door mat before entering.

6. Royal honeymoons were hosted on board

A number of royal couples chose to spend their honeymoons on Britannia given its privacy and security. Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones started the trend with a six-week sail between Mustique, Trinidad and Antigua, followed by Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, and Princess Diana and Prince Charles. The royal apartments were located on the shelter deck with access to a large veranda.

7. There were more than 200 crew on board

During royal tours, Britannia was manned by 220 yachtsmen, 21 officers and three season officers and a Royal Marine band of 26 on royal tours. Up until the 1970s, the crew had a daily ration of rum and she was the last Royal Navy vessel to have the crew sleep in hammocks.

8. Ready for war

Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in times of war. Although she was never used in this capacity, she did assist in the evacuation of refugees during the South Yemen civil war. The drawing room was used as a temporary dormitory for the evacuees.

9. The golden rivet

It was common for officers to send junior crew off on a fool’s errand to search for a single "golden rivet". It became a right of passage and engrained in maritime folklore. During a state visit, so the story goes, the Queen had caught wind of this elusive rivet and was keen to see it for herself, so the crew found some gold leaf and hastily created a golden rivet to present to Her Majesty.

10. Decomission

HMS Britannia was officially retired from royal service in 1997. Britannia  is now permanently berthed in Edinburgh and has been converted into a museum. To this day, all the clocks on board remained stopped on 3.01pm which is the exact time the Queen last disembarked the vessel.

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The Royal Yacht Britannia

Experience Tripadvisor's Best UK Attraction 2023. Follow in the footsteps of Royalty and explore this floating Royal residence with a fascinating audio tour of five decks (available in over 30 languages).

Tripadvisor's Best UK Attraction 2023, Best UK Attraction (Which magazine readers) and Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Best of the Best award winner 

Visit this award-winning attraction, just two miles from Edinburgh's city centre at Ocean Terminal.  The Royal Yacht Britannia played host to some of the world’s most famous people, from Nelson Mendela to Winston Churchill, but above all was home for the British Royal Family for over 40 years. Now you can discover the heart and soul of this most special of Royal residences.

You'll receive a truly warm welcome at Britannia's Visitor Centre before you board this famous ship where you will discover the history of Royal Yachts and view displays and historical photographs of Britannia's fascinating past before boarding Queen Elizabeth II's former floating palace.

What will you see?

• Tour Britannia’s five decks
• Feel like the captain of the ship in the Bridge
• Follow in the footsteps of Royalty through the State Apartments
• See Queen Elizabeth II's favourite room- the Sun Lounge
• Discover below decks in the Crew’s Quarters
• Admire a tour highlight, the gleaming Engine Room
• Take in the Royal Sailing Exhibition
• Enjoy soups, sandwiches, cakes and scones in the Royal Deck Tearoom and admire the stunning waterfront views.

The tour is available in:

• Audio handset tour, available in over 30 languages
• Children’s audio tour
• Audio tour for those with sight loss
• ASL and BSL tablet
• Braille script ​​​​​​ ​​​​​

Complete the Britannia experience with a visit to the  Gift Shop in Ocean Terminal, where you’ll find exclusive Britannia souvenirs, china, toys, gifts and nautical items.

Berthed just moments away, Britannia's sister ship, floating hotel Fingal, offers 22 luxurious cabins inspired by the former Northern Lighthouse Board tender's rich maritime heritage. For further information, visit Fingal's website .

HELPFUL INFORMATION:

-  All weather experience -  Highly accessible for wheelchair users, single buggies and those with limited mobility. Read our accessibility statement here . -  Free Annual Pass for 12 months admission included -  The entrance to Britannia is temporarily on the Ground Floor of Ocean Terminal shopping centre.

How to get here?

By tram: Take the tram to stop 'Ocean Terminal' (Newhaven direction).

By bus:  Regal Tour Bus and Lothian Buses 10, 16, 34 and 35 run from the city centre towards Ocean Terminal. Majestic Tour buses depart regularly from Waterloo Place / St Andrew Square in the centre of Edinburgh. The Majestic Tour is operated by Edinburgh Bus Tours .

By train:  Arrive in the city centre at Edinburgh Waverley Train Station, just 2 miles from Britannia. 

By car: Follow signs to Edinburgh and Leith or North Edinburgh. Then follow brown tourist signs for Britannia. Free car parking at Ocean Terminal (level C is nearest). For satnav our postcode is EH6 6JJ. Go inside the shopping centre for Britannia’s entrance and the start of the tour. By plane: Britannia is approximately 40 minutes’ drive from Edinburgh Airport.

For further information on finding Britannia, please see here .  

OPENING TIMES

Please check the Britannia website for full opening times and prices. EVENING EVENTS Exclusive dinners and receptions can be hosted on board. Call our events team on +44 (0) 131 555 8800 and see how we can create your event of a lifetime, or visit the events section of our website .

PRIVATE TOURS A private tour on board The Royal Yacht Britannia is an exclusive experience, giving you access to Britannia’s five decks, and a unique insight into the history of the Royal Yacht and how the Royal Family and crew lived and worked on board. Both Morning and Evening tours are available. Call our events team on +44 (0) 131 555 8800 or for more information visit click here . PRESERVING BRITANNIA Britannia is cared for by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust , a self-funding charity registered in Scotland (SC028070). By visiting Britannia you will be helping us to preserve this important piece of history for future generations.

www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk See our reviews on Tripadvisor Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Instagram

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Transport and Parking

• On Public Transport Route
• Public Parking Nearby

Accessibility

• Hearing Loop
• Accessible Parking Or Drop-off Point
• Lift or stairlift
• Large print, braille or audio
• Level Access
• Wheelchair access throughout
• Accessible toilets
• Wheelchairs or mobility aids provided
• Suitable for visitors with limited mobility

Dietary Options

• Gluten Free

Typical Prices

• Baby Changing Facilities
• Public Toilet Facilities
• Lunch Available
• Licensed Bar
• Cafe or Restaurant

Payment Methods

• American Express
• Diners Card
• Credit Card
• Coastal Location
• Sea/Loch View

Awards & Schemes

Related items of interest

• Sailing on Royal Racing Yacht Bloodhound

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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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Everything you need to know about Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht Britannia

HMY Britannia by Tower Bridge. Credit: Lynda Poulter via Wikimedia Commons.

In service from 1954 until 1997, HMY Britannia is the former royal yacht of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the British throne in 1660 and had HMY Mary built for him by the Dutch East India Company, and the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being a racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893.

During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe. Today, she is an award-winning visitor attraction and evening events venue permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh.

HMY Britannia was built in Scotland at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd. in Clydebank, West Dumbartonshire. It was launched by the Queen on 16 April 1953 and commissioned on 11 January 1954.

She sailed on her maiden voyage from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour, Malta, on 14 April 1954, carrying Prince Charles and Princess Anne to Malta, to Malta in order for them to meet their parents at the end of the royal couple’s Commonwealth Tour.

On 20 July 1959,  Britannia  sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway en route to Chicago, where she docked, making the Queen the first Canadian monarch to visit the city. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was aboard  Britannia  for part of this cruise; Presidents Ford, Reagan and Clinton were subsequently welcomed aboard the yacht.

Britannia  was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, with space for an estimated 200 patients. Although the ship was never used in this capacity, as she sailed down the Red Sea in January 1986, en route to Australia, she was asked to play the equally challenging role of rescue ship, to evacuate British nationals and others trapped in South Yemen, where civil war had broken out. Moreover, in the event of nuclear war, Britannia was to be used as a refuge and base of operations for the Queen. The plan, codenamed “Python system”, would have had the ship located on the northwest coast of Scotland in sea lochs with Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Home Secretary safely on board.

The royal yacht played host to four royal honeymoons: Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones visited the West Indies in 1960; Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips also chose the Caribbean in 1973; Prince Charles and Princess Diana travelled around the Mediterranean in 1981 and finally the Duke and Duchess of York visited the Azores in 1986. Most recently, Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall held their pre-wedding reception on board the yacht in July 2011.

The State Drawing Room. Credit: Marianna Bozzoli.

Britannia ’s last foreign mission was to Hong Kong for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997.  The ship set sail for Hong Kong in January and served to escort British Governor Christopher Patten and the Prince of Wales back to the UK.

In 1997, the Conservative government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if re-elected, while the Labour Party refused to disclose its plans for the vessel. After Tony Blair’s Labour won the general election in May 1997, it announced the vessel was to be retired and no replacement would be built. The previous government had argued that the cost was justified by its role in foreign policy and promoting British interests abroad.

The Queen has since chartered the MV Hebridian Princess , a private charter cruise ship, on two separate occasions for family trips around the Scottish islands.

When HMY Britannia would come into port, blowing its foghorns, the Queen herself would reportedly imitate the foghorn noise, much to the amusement of anyone in earshot. Then she and the Duke of Edinburgh would travel ashore on the royal barge, built in 1964 to replace to previous one, which had originally belonged to the royal yacht Victoria and Albert III .

Unlike most ships, Britannia was the only ships in the world where the captain was always an Admiral.  The crew were volunteers from the Royal Navy, officers were appointed for a period of two years, while enlisted crew (known as “yachtsmen”) served for one-year periods, after which they could be admitted to “The Permanent Royal Yacht Service”.  If accepted the Royal Yachtsmen were permitted to serve until they left the Royal Yacht Service or were expelled for medical or disciplinary reasons.  An attachment of Royal Marines would also be stationed on the yacht when the Royal Family was present. Service on the royal yacht attracted no extra pay, allowances or leave.

Everything was done to preserve the Royal Family’s tranquillity: most orders were not given verbally, but by hand signal; soft-soled plimsolls were worn and any work near the royal apartments had to be completed by 8.00AM.

The Queen’s Bedroom. Credit: Marianna Bozzoli.

HMY Britannia was the last ship in the Royal Navy to have hammocks in sailors’ quarters.

During her career as Royal Yacht,  Britannia  conveyed the Queen, other members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on 696 foreign visits and 272 visits in British waters. In this time,  Britannia  steamed 1,087,623 nautical miles (2,014,278 km).

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The Royal Yacht Britannia: How The Queen created a floating home and theatre of state

• Queen Elizabeth II
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The Queen was the best-travelled monarch in British history. John Goodall looks at the story of the Royal Yacht Britannia, now permanently moored in Leith, Edinburgh. Photographs by Paul Highnam.

‘I name this ship Britannia . I wish success to her and to all who sail in her.’

With these words, on April 16, 1953, The Queen released a bottle of ‘Empire wine’ — a post-war economy in place of Champagne — to launch the Royal Yacht Britannia . The name of the ship had been kept secret and, hearing it declared, the assembled crowd gave a huge roar of approval. To the sound of more cheers, and as a band played Rule Britannia , the 4,000-ton hull, No 691, slid slowly down the slipway from the Clydebank shipyard of John Brown & Co, into the river, and was towed by tugs to the fitting-out basin upstream.

From as early as 1939, bids had been invited to construct a new Royal Yacht capable of long-distance travel. War and austerity put paid to the initiative, but a visit by George VI to South Africa in 1947 on board the battleship HMS Vanguard revived it. As The Queen commented at Britannia ’s launch, George VI ‘felt most strongly, as I do, that a yacht was a necessity and not a luxury for the Head of our great British Commonwealth, between whose countries the sea is no barrier, but the natural and indestructible highway’.

Fig 1: The Sun Lounge. The wall-mounted telephone to the right is identical to those installed in Buckingham Palace. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

In October 1951, therefore, the Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced the government’s intention to build a yacht capable of conversion into a hospital ship in time of war. A General Election, however, almost immediately passed responsibility for realising the £2.1 million project to a Conservative government under Sir Winston Churchill and the King authorised the commission in writing on February 5, 1952, the day before he died. Britannia claims to be the 83rd Royal Yacht in succession to Mary , which was presented to Charles II by the people of Amsterdam at the Restoration in 1660. The first steam-powered Royal Yacht was launched in 1843.

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Both the Duke of Edinburgh — himself, of course, a naval officer with a technical interest in, and understanding of, ships — and The Queen were closely involved in the design and decoration of Britannia . As the Duke explained in an interview in 1995, she ‘was rather special as far as we were concerned because we were involved from the very beginning in organising the design and furnishing and equipping and hanging the pictures and everything else… All the other places we live in had been built by predecessors’. This close involvement makes the royal apartment within the yacht one of the most coherent surviving expressions of the royal couple’s personal interests and taste.

One outward mark of their involvement in Britannia is the deep blue of the hull ( Fig 2 ) , which is borrowed — together with its enlivening band of gold leaf — from the Dragon Class racing yacht Bluebottle , which was a wedding gift in 1948. The main interiors of the yacht, meanwhile, were created with the assistance of Sir Hugh Casson, who had recently been knighted for his work as director of architecture for the Festival of Britain.

Fig 3: The State Dining Room. Hung on the walls are gifts from around the world. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

By Casson’s account — recorded in a series of interviews in early 1990 for the National Life Stories of the British Library Oral History Project — the dockyard had initially turned to the established local firm of McInnes Gardner to furnish the yacht. The Duke of Edinburgh, however, judged its Louis XVII-style proposals as too much in the character of a transatlantic liner. He requested something simpler and asked the furniture designer Gordon Russell for advice. Russell suggested Casson on the strength of his Festival of Britain experience. By happy coincidence, Casson loved liners, having spent part of his childhood in Southampton.

Casson had never properly met his royal clients before this commission and time was of the essence. After a sequence of interviews with the Duke of Edinburgh, the Admiralty and a representative of McInnes Gardner, he quickly produced a series of large watercolour sketches of the main rooms that were posted off to the Royal Family at Balmoral. That done, and in company with John Wright, an architect and furniture designer in his office, he visited the previous Royal Yacht — Victoria and Albert III , built in 1899 and retired in 1937 — to salvage fittings. These included her picture collection, china, silver, linen and glass. Two ornate compasses or binnacles were also rescued, but these, in fact, originally came from a yet earlier vessel, Queen Victoria’s Royal George .

Fig 4: The State Drawing Room, with its regulation electric fire. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

Soon afterwards, Casson, Wright and a Mr McInnes Gardner of the eponymous Glasgow firm, were summoned to Balmoral, where they arrived one morning at breakfast time. There was an informal meeting soon afterwards, with The Queen sitting by the fire and Princess Anne combing her hair, at which his royal clients professed themselves delighted with the designs. They requested, however, that the watercolours be laid out for further discussion after the immediate business of the morning, a church service.

What discussion the drawings elicited is unclear, but Casson makes it apparent that the Duke of Edinburgh was otherwise a crucial point of connection in the design process and that the choice of fabrics was taken by the royal couple. The next day, Casson was dismissed with an instruction to get on with the work and send samples of materials. He was also given a brace of pheasant bearing a prominent label ‘From The Queen’, which he hung ostentatiously from the luggage rack of his train carriage as he travelled south.

Casson’s stated aim in Britannia was to create a country-house interior in the yacht, although the conscious simplicity perhaps more powerfully evokes the residence of a British colonial governor or High Commissioner. He proposed a single colour carpet throughout, white walls, polished mahogany doors and some gilding of highlights. His accomplished and loosely worked watercolour sketches have the effect of bringing the picture hang and the furniture to the fore, setting chintz patterns and pastel tones against the clean lines and bold details of the architecture. To a striking degree, and despite repair and renovation, the interiors of the yacht still resemble these views.

Fig 5: The grand staircase connecting the royal bedroom suites with the state rooms. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

Incorporated within the Upper Deck are the State Drawing Room — the fireplace within it had to be fitted with an electric fire because of naval regulations ( Fig 4 ) — and the State Dining Room ( Fig 3 ) . Between them is an anteroom and the main stair ( Fig 5 ) , as well as sitting rooms for the Duke and The Queen ( Fig 6 ) . The stairwell also incorporates the formal entrance to the yacht, making this the hallway of the royal apartment. On the Shelter Deck above are the private family rooms, including the Duke’s and The Queen’s bedrooms ( Fig 8 ) , each with its own bathroom. There is also the Sun Lounge ( Fig 1 ) , a room with large windows that opens onto the verandah deck towards the stern.

The royal apartment occupies about a third of the yacht and has its own connected cabins, services and galley. All the remainder was organised in the manner of a working Royal Navy vessel. To man the ship was a crew of up to 220 yachtsmen and 21 officers under the command of an admiral or commodore (rather than a captain). The crew was divided into several departments, including a Royal Marine band. There is a bridge, wheelhouse, accommodation, wardroom and messes, a sick-bay and storage. The diesel engines drove two geared steam turbines that gave her a top speed of 22½ knots and a range of about 2,196 miles at 20 knots.

Much about the life of Britannia was unusual. The uniform was distinctive, with such details as a silk bow at the back of the trousers. Gym shoes were worn on deck and, to avoid noise, there was no tannoy system or shouting. Instead telephones and hand signals were used to communicate. Because of its role as a floating palace and the need for impeccable clothes, the laundry was particularly important. In addition to the Royal Barge — the original from Victoria and Albert III was replaced in 1964 by one built by Camper Nicholson — the yacht also had a garage for either a Land Rover or The Queen’s Phantom V Rolls Royce.

Fig 6: The Queen’s Sitting Room, with its desk. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

In November 1953, as work to Britannia was still under way, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh set off on their first and longest Commonwealth tour aboard the passenger liner Gothic . Their new yacht set out to meet them as they returned, carrying the young Prince of Wales and Princess Anne. The family party embarked from Tobruk on May 1, 1954 and returned to Britain, picking up Churchill (and Casson) in the Solent. Having reviewed the fleet, Britannia sailed into the Port of London to public welcome. A painting of the yacht passing beneath Tower Bridge on that occasion was later hung in pride of place over the drawing-room fireplace.

For the next 44 years, Britannia worked busily in the service of Britain and the Commonwealth and played a role in more than 700 royal visits. In the process, she served not only as a means of transport, but as a home and a theatre of state. One of her regular duties was an annual summer cruise taking the Royal Family from the Cowes Regatta off the Isle of Wight to the Western Isles of Scotland. She also acted as a honeymoon retreat for several royal couples. The Queen was seen to relax on board in a way that was impossible elsewhere.

Fig 7: The engine room, with its immaculate machinery. Britannia sailed her millionth mile in February 1994. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

In 1994, when on a Caribbean trip, Britannia passed her millionth nautical mile and there was a celebration in the engine room ( Fig 7 ) , where The Queen and the Duke cut a ribbon and a cake. By then, however, she was becoming a dated vessel and, in 1995, a decision was taken by the Conservative Government of John Major that Britannia should not sail beyond 1997. This opened up discussions on the creation of a ‘cost-effective elegant royal yacht’, a project rather awkwardly compressed into the acronym CELERY. The idea of a replacement for Britannia was eventually incorporated into the Conservative manifesto of 1997, but with the Opposition never having been consulted, the provision of a new yacht now became a heated political issue.

Following the Labour general election victory that year, therefore, the idea of replacing Britannia was scrapped. Tony Blair made a visit to the yacht soon afterwards and has been quoted as saying that he regretted the decision as soon as he stepped on board.

Fig 8: The Queen’s Bedroom, with its modest single bed. The embroidered silk panel over the bed was designed by Joan Nicholson. The Royal Yacht Britannia. ©Paul Highnam for Country Life

The fate of Britannia , however, was by now sealed. On June 30, 1997, she performed her final state role, in the handover of Hong Kong to China, carrying the governor out of the harbour. She returned to Britain to be decommissioned at Portsmouth on December 11, 1997. After a gathering of the Royal Family on board, The Queen was piped ashore for the last time at exactly 15:01. The time is still displayed on all the clocks onboard. In a rare display of emotion, she was seen to shed a tear for the ship that had been her creation and home for so long.

In the past, Royal Yachts had either been scuttled or broken up. In the case of Britannia , however, the Government invited bids from UK organisations to present her to the public as a tourist attraction. From the seven bids considered, that of Edinburgh was judged the most successful and, since July 5, 1998, the yacht has been berthed beside Ocean Terminal shopping centre at Leith under the care of the The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. She has not only proved a popular tourist attraction, but continues to operate as a venue for private hire. On display at Britannia are three royal sailing vessels, The Queen’s ocean-racing yacht Bloodhound , Bluebottle and Coweslip . The trust also owns a former lighthouse supply vessel, Fingal , now converted into Scotland’s only luxury floating hotel.

The political battle over the question of whether Britain should have a Royal Yacht continues into this Platinum Jubilee year. Whatever the outcome, Britannia deserves to be better known as a remarkable surviving example of taste at the start of Britain’s second Elizabethan Age.

For further information and opening hours, visit www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk

This article was originally published in June 2022.

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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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Inside The Queen’s Yacht, HMY BRITANNIA

September 21,2022

Take a dive into the world of the royals, and read all about Queen Elizabeth II's yacht, the HMY BRITANNIA.

Here at SuperYachtsMonaco, we were deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary Queen Elizabeth II. To honour her memory, we would like to talk about her yacht, the HMY BRITANNIA, that served Her Majesty for an incredible 44 years; from 1953 to 1997.  

The HMY BRITANNIA is an impressive 126m in length, and was built in Scotland by the highly respected John Brown and Company. Her interiors represent the epitome of luxury and class, reserved only for the royals. Her engine had 1200 horsepower, and boasted a speed of 21 knots, which is incredibly impressive for a yacht that size! She has also sailed an immense million nautical miles in her time, taking the royal family to 135 countries. 

The HMY BRITANNIA has a beautiful stately interior of warm woods, soft fabric upholstery and elegant lighting, creating a very luxurious and authentic atmosphere. BRITANNIA was the only Royal residence for which both HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince Philip had final say in its design. The Queen wanted the interior to reflect an English countryside home, and she insisted on having a fireplace installed in the living room, in order to enhance the ambience. 

There are a mind-blowing 1837 staterooms on board, to house the 4406 guests that the yacht has capacity for. Out of these there are only a select few that are reserved for the royal family, and these are called the Royal Residences. These rooms are equipped with plush white carpets, lavish bed spreads, and ambient lighting. Interestingly, everyone on this yacht has a separate room, even the late Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II themselves. In fact, the only double bed on board was acquired for King Charles III and his late first wife Diana Spencer, for the couple honeymooned on the HMY BRITANNIA. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the Sovereign to determine when everyone could retire to sleep – only once they have chosen it is time to go to bed, can anyone actually sleep!

The gorgeous dining room boasts an impressive 32-seat mahogany table, for guests and royals to enjoy meal times. As for the meal times of the crew, HMY BRITANNIA is actually kitted out with multiple pubs on board! These pubs would serve food, and would have beer on tap, simulating a real English pub so that the crew members would feel at home on board, and have a space to relax and just hang out together.

The Sun Lounge was Her Majesty The Queen’s favourite room onboard, where she would enjoy breakfast and afternoon tea.

The yacht can currently be found in Scotland, at the Port of Leith in Edinbourgh, where she is available for public viewings and tours. 

HMY BRITANNIA a was the first Royal Yacht to be built with complete ocean-going capacity and designed as a Royal residence to entertain guests around the world. When she was decommissioned in 1997, it marked the end of a long tradition of British Royal Yachts, dating back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II. 

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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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New national flagship replacing the Royal Yacht Britannia 'to be funded through the Ministry of Defence', says Number 10

The new flagship will replace the Royal Yacht Britannia which was retired in 1997 after 44 years of service.

Political reporter @itssophiemorris

Monday 21 June 2021 17:04, UK

A new national yacht, which is reportedly set to cost £200m, will be paid for out of the Ministry of Defence's budget, Downing Street has confirmed.

The national flagship, the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, will sail the globe hosting trade talks.

The prime minister's official spokesperson said Boris Johnson hopes it will be built in the UK, but that international rules on procurement will be followed.

Mr Johnson announced the commissioning of the new flagship earlier this year , saying it would be used to promote British interests around the world as the UK seeks to build trade links post-Brexit.

The vessel will be part of and crewed by the Royal Navy, the PM said.

"Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British - a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage," he added.

Labour has previously called on the government to set out how the yacht will boost trade and jobs in the UK and to "focus on value for money" with regards to the project.

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Conservative Jake Berry, who is chairman of the Northern Research Group of MPs, has campaigned for the vessel to be built by Cammell Laird on Merseyside.

And at a lobby briefing on Monday, the PM's official spokesperson confirmed the new flagship will be "funded through the Ministry of Defence".

"This new national flagship will boost British trade and drive investment into the economy," he said.

"The procurement process, which is being done through the MoD, will reflect its wide-ranging use and so it will be funded through the MoD, as set out previously."

The PM's official spokesperson declined to comment on where the MoD would find the reported £200m required for the project out of its budget, but did confirm the new vessel will not be a warship.

"We will set out the exact detail in due course but this is a trade ship, it is not a military vessel," he said.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched by The Queen in 1953 and was retired in 1997 after completing 44 years of service.

The new national flagship is expected to be in service for around 30 years.

The yacht's name is yet to be announced, but reports have suggested it will pay homage to the Duke of Edinburgh who was Lord High Admiral from 2011 until his death earlier this year, and served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

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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.

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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. 

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

Tel: 0131 555 5566 Email us: [email protected]

Please pre-book your tickets to guarantee admission

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The Royal Deck Tearoom

Ocean Terminal is currently undergoing redevelopment , adding new leisure and retail businesses, as well as residential spaces. As part of this redevelopment, Britannia will also be gaining a new Visitor Centre and Gift Shop which will involve us operating out of temporary accommodation whilst these new facilities are being created.

Whilst you are visiting Edinburgh's top attraction, why not visit the Royal Deck Tearoom? You can enjoy freshly prepared, homemade food, stunning views and a warm welcome.

The menu includes speciality coffees and cocktails, tasty soups and sandwiches and mouth-watering cakes and scones, all made on board in our Royal Galley. Perhaps treat yourself to a Champagne Cream Tea in the very same spot where the Royal Family would have played deck games and entertained?

Prices and information in sample menus below are correct from March 2024 and may be subject to change.

Royal Deck Tearoom Admission

Please note you must purchase a Britannia admission ticket to visit the Tearoom as it is on the tour route. We are unable to take reservations for the Tearoom (tables are allocated on a first come, first served basis).

The Tearoom is accessible for wheelchairs (no wider than 67cm) and buggies via the original internal lift from the Royal Bedrooms. If you are using an electric wheelchair, please speak to a member of staff for assistance. Also please refer to our Accessibility Statement .

Opening Times

* The Royal Yacht Britannia is closed on 25 December and 1 January. Last admission to the Tearoom on 24 December is 2:45pm and 31 December is 3pm.

The Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar, Fingal

Britannia's sister ship, Fingal , offers the stunning Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar in which to enjoy an exquisite five-course Afternoon Tea . This most British of traditions features exquisite sweet and savoury pastries and mouth-watering sandwiches, served in the Art Deco inspired surroundings. Non-residents can also relax under the shimmering ceiling, and indulge in a Dinner with dishes bursting with flavour, made from only the best local produce, as well as nautically-inspired Cocktails .

Freshly Baked Scones

Tripadvisor’s No.1 UK Attraction 2023 - 2024

We are delighted to be Tripadvisor’s No.1 UK Attraction 2023 - 2024  and a Best of the Best award winner.  Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s 8 million listings are awarded Best of the Best, signifying the highest level of excellence in travel.

Fingal's Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar

Gift vouchers for Afternoon Tea, spectacular cocktails or sumptuous dining on the upper deck of Fingal , in The Lighthouse Restaurant & Bar.

Visiting Britannia

TRIPADVISOR'S NO.1 UK ATTRACTION 2023 - 2024

Click on the Visit page  for more information before you visit.

Step aboard to enjoy a great day out!

Fingal Hotel

Get away from the everyday aboard Britannia’s sister ship, Fingal.  Extend your visit with a stay in one of Fingal’s luxurious cabins, your own oasis by the sea. 

TRIPADVISOR'S NO.1 UK LUXURY HOTEL TRIPADVISOR'S NO.1 UK SMALL & BOUTIQUE HOTEL AA Hotel of the Year Scotland, AA five-star hotel and 2 AA Rosettes

Learn more: fingal.co.uk