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

• Queen Elizabeth II
• Royal family

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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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 Story Behind the Royal Family's Yacht, Britannia

The ship hosted four royal honeymoons in its 44 years of service.

Often referred to as the last royal yacht, the Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, and despite some efforts , there are no signs of a new one in the near future. Though its seafaring days may be behind it (the ship now serves as a tourist attraction in Edinburgh, Scotland), the Britannia remains an important artifact and a peek behind the curtain of royal life—it even garnered a prominent place in the fifth season of The Crown . Below, a few of its most notable moments throughout history.

It was the first royal yacht designed for ocean travel.

The ship was built by John Brown & Co at the same shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland in the same location the famous ocean liners the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary were constructed. With 12,000 horsepower, the ship could travel at a maximum 22.5 knots (approximately 25 miles per hour), ideal for ocean-going diplomacy. Prior to its launch in 1953, the royal family used ships from the Royal Navy or even passenger liners for the overseas portions of the royal tour.

In its 44 years of service, the HMY Britannia traveled around 1.1 million miles.

It was commissioned just two days before the death of King George VI.

The King was already in failing health by the time the designs for the HMY Britannia were submitted, and the hope was that traveling might help alleviate some of his symptoms. However, just two days after the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland received the order the King passed away on February 6, 1952.

It would take just over a year for the ship to be completed, during which time its name remained a secret—it wasn't announced until the ship's official launch in April of 1953, less than two months before the Queen's coronation . Elizabeth cracked a bottle of English wine (in the post-war era, champagne was considered too extravagant for the launch of a ship) and announced, "I name this ship Britannia … I wish success to her and all who sail in her."

It was created to double as a hospital.

When Britannia was first envisioned, less than a decade after the end of World War II, the designers sought to make it as functional as possible, crafting a space that could be converted from an ocean-going royal residence to a seafaring hospital during any possible future wartime. The main veranda was laid out and re-enforced so that it could support a helicopter landing and the laundry was made much larger than on a standard naval vessel to accommodate the potential patients. Though the ship was never actually put to that purpose, it was pressed into service on a rescue mission to help evacuate European nationals from South Yemen in 1986.

The ship was home to a lot of history.

Long before it became a floating museum, the Britannia had an eye for history. The gold and white binnacle housed on the ship's veranda deck was originally part of the HMY Royal George , a royal yacht that served Queen Victoria . Likewise, some of the bed linens used by Queen Elizabeth aboard the vessel were originally made for Victoria's bed for one of the previous royal yachts.

Britannia's steering wheel was lifted from her namesake, the racing yacht HMY Britannia , built in 1893 for King Edward VII .

It was redesigned to be less opulent.

Despite the sense of luxury that the term "royal yacht" inspires, the Queen and Prince Philip were actually concerned when they began overseeing the project in 1952 that the original interior design plans by the design firm McInnes Gardner & Partners were too lavish for a country still recovering from the war. The interiors were ultimately redesigned by Sir Hugh Casson and received very minimal updates throughout her 44 years of service.

But it still had homey touches—by royal standards.

Suffice to say that even low-key royal living is a fairly high class. In addition to the 56-seat State Dining Room, which hosted luminaries including Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Nelson Mandela, and multiple US Presidents, the ship also sported a formal staircase where the Queen would greet guests, separate bedrooms and sitting rooms for both Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh, and a phone system designed to match the unique configurations of Buckingham Palace's telephones.

In the early years of the Britannia's life it was also home to the Queen's Rolls-Royce Phantom V which was hoisted and lowered from a special garage compartment at port so that the Queen could drive her own car at each location. The space was ever so slightly too small, forcing the bumpers to be removed in order to get it into the garage without damage and then refitted when the car was removed. Ultimately Elizabeth began using cars provided for her at port instead and the garage was converted into a storage area for beer.

The steering crew couldn't see where they were going.

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

While working, the crew reportedly used hand signals to communicate rather than shouting orders, in order to maintain a sense of quiet and calm for the royal residents. It was also the last ship in the royal navy where the crew members slept in hammocks, a practice that they maintained until 1973.

Perhaps the most unusual element of the ship's functioning, though, was the steering. While on most ships, the steering wheel sits on the bridge, overlooking the front of the vessel, Britannia 's was on the deck below, in the wheelhouse, which meant that the yachtsmen who were actually doing the steering couldn't see where they were going. The crew got around this rather surprising pitfall by using voice pipes from the bridge to confer navigational orders.

It was a royal honeymoon essential.

No fewer than four royal couples celebrated their honeymoons in the HMY Britannia 's honeymoon suite (the only room onboard with a double bed.)

Princess Margaret started the tradition in 1960 for her Caribbean honeymoon with Anthony Armstrong-Jones , a quiet, formal affair where dinners were taken in full evening dress every night. Things didn't go quite as smoothly for Princess Anne on her honeymoon with Captain Mark Phillips in 1973—storms and 20-foot waves left the couple stricken with seasickness for the first week of their Caribbean cruise. Prince Charles and Princess Diana famously spent their 1981 honeymoon on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the yacht. The crew managed to duck the press so efficiently they garnered the nickname "the ghost ship." The final royal honeymoon aboard the Britannia was taken by Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson , Duchess of York in 1986 when the couple traveled around the Azores.

And a family vacation spot.

In addition to her diplomatic duties on royal tours and her service as a post-wedding retreat, the Britannia was also a vessel for family vacations. During the summer months, the royal family would often take off on what became known as the Western Isles tour, cruising around the western isles of Scotland. During the trip, the family would play games and have barbecues on the islands. The stairway off of the veranda was sometimes even converted into a waterslide for the younger royals. The tour often included a stop off at the Castle of Mey to visit the Queen Mother, then making berth in Aberdeen so that the Queen could travel to her favorite summer home, Balmoral .

The Queen openly wept when HMY Britannia was decommissioned in 1997.

With so many memories around the yacht, it's not hard to understand why the decommissioning of the Britannia was upsetting for the royal family. Though plans were initially drawn up for a replacement yacht, the government ultimately determined not to fund the effort. After the Queen officially took her leave of it in 1997, the ship was placed in the port of Leith in Scotland where it serves as a floating museum and events venue . All of the clocks on board remain stopped at 3:01, the exact time that Her Majesty disembarked for the last time.

It was used for a reception for Zara Phillips before her wedding.

Though it's no longer used as their private vessel, the Britannia 's connection to the royal family didn't end in 1997. In 2011 on the night before her wedding, the Queen's oldest granddaughter Zara Phillips contracted the ship for a reception. Though her grandmother wasn't in attendance Zara celebrated her upcoming marriage to Mike Tindall onboard along with her mother and her cousins Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate, Princess Eugenie, and Princess Beatrice.

Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

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'The Crown': The Real History of the Royal Yacht Britannia and Its Significance to the Queen

Britannia served the Queen and her family until the very end.

The penultimate season of The Crown starts by going back to a scene in 1953 when Queen Elizabeth II is seen launching the Royal Yacht Britannia and without a doubt, the yacht itself becomes the first issue of contention in what is another season of The Crown that focuses on one of the most contentious decades in the lives of the royal family.

Commissioned in 1954, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia necessitates repair – an act that's costly for the government to bear. In the first episode "Queen Victoria Syndrome," when Queen Elizabeth II ( Imelda Staunton ) requests Prime Minister John Major ( Jonny Lee Miller ) to incur the expenses for the yacht's repair, she finds herself disappointed as the Prime Minister reminds the Queen of the scrutiny such a big public expenditure will attract. This hesitation on the part of the Prime Minister to agree to the repair easily sends the Queen, who's already on the brink of dwindling popularity, into an emotional tizzy. Queen Elizabeth II reminds John Major that she expects her minor requests to be fulfilled in return for her service to the nation. It's clearly hinted that the Queen feels a deeper connection with Britannia – one which she compares to that of a home – as the Queen's relationship with Britannia is nearly as old as her relationship with the crown. In tracing the journey of Britannia, one can trace the journey of the Queen herself.

Before Britannia found its way to the heart of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family, Victoria & Albert III, which was built for Queen Victoria, served the royal family for 38 years. Although it was named after Queen Victoria, she never stepped foot on it. Eventually, the former royal yacht was decommissioned in 1954. The requirement for a new royal yacht soon emerged under the reign of King George VI. The King wanted the ship to be more than just a luxury. Hence, the ship was supposed to also serve as a hospital during the war, the opportunity for which never came. Also, it was hoped that the yacht will help the King cope with the troubles of his ailing health. Finally, on February 4, 1952, the John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank received the order for a new ship that would go on to become the Britannia. Unfortunately, just two days after the order was given, King George VI passed away, an event that sets into motion the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who was pushed into the role of the monarch suddenly.

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Queen Elizabeth II Introduced Britannia To The World

Upon the demise of King George VI, the responsibility to look over the construction and commissioning of Britannia fell on the Queen herself, and it was a responsibility that she fulfilled in glorious fashion as the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were closely involved in the pre-commission years of the royal yacht. The original design was proposed by the design firm McInnes Gardner & Partner, but the design was judged to be too lavish for a country recovering from the aftermath of a war. Hence, the Queen and the Duke opted for a design in tune with the times. In fact, the Queen herself picked the color of the paint for the walls and the woodwork and metalwork. As clarified by the Queen in "Queen Victoria Syndrome," the yacht meant more than a luxury for the Royal Highness.

Among the many residences that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip owned, Britannia was one that reflected the Queen's preferences the most for what a dream house would look like. Although a home away at sea, Britannia was easily the dearest of all places for the Queen who witnessed her home's construction as well as her disassembly all in one lifetime. As shown in the first episode of Season 5, when Queen Elizabeth II proudly introduced the ship to the world by saying, "I name this ship Britannia… I wish success to her and all who sail in her," she was introducing the world to something extremely personal; something that she was highly proud of – her very own home. Britannia was launched by the Queen on April 16, 1953 , and commissioned on January 11, 1954. Royal Yacht Britannia served Prince Charles and Princess Anne on her maiden voyage, taking them to the Queen and the Duke at the end of the royals' Commonwealth tour. The senior royals were also hosted by the royal yacht in May of the same year.

Royal Yacht Britannia Was Integral To The Royal Family's Life

Britannia was not merely a means of transport for the royal family. Instead, the royal yacht had become an essential part of the royals' lives by the end of its 44-year-long tenure. Britannia was a constant companion of the Queen on many historic visits. In 1959, Britannia took the Queen to Chicago for an event that celebrated the opening of the St. Lawrence seaway in Canada. During the visit, President Dwight Eisenhower was hosted on board. Aboard Britannia, the Queen also traveled to the UAE for her first official visit. In 1986, the royal yacht was sent on a rescue mission to save refugees from the civil war in Yemen , fulfilling King George's dream of having a royal yacht that also served the people in times of distress. Over the million miles that the yacht traversed, Britannia hosted many more dignitaries such as Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, among others.

The royalty of the yacht also matched that of the many other residences with royal bedrooms, a 56-seat dining room, drawing rooms, and ample cabins for the officers. The yacht also contained a garage for the Queen's Rolls-Royce which served her on all visits. The yacht was also a vacation home for the royal family on the Western Isles tour, which the family would undertake during the summers. The Britannia has taken the Queen on many journeys to her castle at Balmoral, the Queen's summer retreat.

Britannia Hosted Multiple Royal Honeymoons

Britannia was also dear to the other royals in the family as well. Using Britannia for the royal honeymoon was a tradition instated by Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips were also hosted on board for their royal honeymoon in 1973. Probably the most famous royal couple of them all, Prince Charles and Princess Diana also spent their honeymoon on Britannia, away from the media. The string of royal honeymoons on Britannia came to an end with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's journey in 1986. Although all these couples later parted ways, Britannia definitely proved to be the perfect host for them in the happier times of their lives.

Queen Elizabeth II Bid Farewell To Britannia With Heavy Heart

By the beginning of the 1990s, Britannia was already in its waning years as, naturally, more than 40 years of service had begun taking a toll on her. Season 5 of The Crown also focuses on this phase of Britannia, when questions around the repair and replacement of Britannia started coming into focus. Episode 1 of Season 5 of The Crown portrays the Queen directly asking Prime Minister Major for a "sign-off" on the repairs of the Britannia. However, it cannot be confirmed whether the Queen really made a request to the Prime Minister directly.

In 1994, the Conservative government headed by Prime Minister Major announced that Britannia will be decommissioned in 1997 owing to the massive cost of keeping the aged royal yacht running. In 2018, it was revealed by The Times that a senior official in Buckingham Palace had written to the cabinet office in 1995, expressing the Queen's welcoming stance on a replacement for Britannia. The mentioned letter was discovered in the national archive. With the general elections approaching in 1997, Britannia's existence became a national issue again with the Tories going back on their decision regarding the Britannia's decommissioning in hopes of finding some favor with the public. But fates had different things in store for Royal Yacht Britannia as the majority win by Tony Blair in 1997 sealed the fate of the yacht for once and for all.

In 1997, Britannia was finally decommissioned post its last voyage , taking Prince Charles to Hong Kong and back after the handover of the former colony to the People's Republic of China on July 1. The Queen's affection for the royal yacht found its strongest expression when she and Prince Philip were seen wiping tears off their face during the decommissioning ceremony at Portsmouth. Bidding farewell to her dear Britannia, the Queen said, "Looking back over forty-four years we can all reflect with pride and gratitude upon this great ship which has served the country, the Royal Navy and my family with such distinction."

Today, Britannia can be visited at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh where it remains a five-star visitor attraction . Unquestionably, Britannia served the Queen and her family in several ways through its 44 years of service. Season 5 of The Crown uses Britannia as a metaphor for the waning control of the monarchy itself as the Queen struggles to enjoy the same popularity that she once used to in light of the controversial events that haunted the family in the decade. While the initial problems with Britannia marked the beginning of the fall, the ultimate decommissioning brought to closure a decade of turmoil. Irrespective of the place The Crown allocates to it in the scheme of priorities for the royal family, the Royal Yacht Britannia was one home that the Queen loved dearly, if not the most, as a result of the many memories attached to the last royal yacht.

Name Royal Yacht Britannia

Construction

As 83rd in a long line of royal yachts that stretches back to 1660 and the reign of Charles II, BRITANNIA holds a proud place in British maritime history. Plans to build a new royal yacht to replace the VICTORIA AND ALBERT III began during the reign of King George VI. But The King died in 1952, four months before the keel of the yacht was laid. His daughter, Princess Elizabeth, succeeded him to the throne and the new Queen, together with her husband, Prince Philip, took a guiding hand in the design of the yacht, personally approving plans prepared by Sir Hugh Casson, Consultant Architect and selecting furniture, fabrics and paintings.

On April 16 1953, Her Majesty's yacht BRITANNIA rolled down the slipway at John Brown's Clydebank Shipyard, on the start of her long and illustrious career. Commissioned for service in January 1954, BRITANNIA sailed the oceans for 43 years and 334 days. During that time she steamed a total of 1,087,623 nautical miles, carrying The Queen and other members of The Royal Family on 968 official visits and calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries. In June 1994, the Government announced that Her Majesty's yacht BRITANNIA would be taken out of service.

On 11 December 1997, BRITANNIA was decommissioned at Portsmouth Naval Base in the presence of The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and fourteen senior members of The Royal Family. Some 2,200 past and present royal yacht officers and yachtsmen, together with their families, came to witness the ceremony. Following BRITANNIA's decommissioning, proposals were put forward by cities around the UK, all competing to secure the ship. In April 1998, the Government announced that Edinburgh had been successful in its bid to bring BRITANNIA to the historic port of Leith. It was fitting that at the end of her active life, BRITANNIA should return to Scotland and to a familiar port for her final berth. The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust undertook to preserve this important 20th century icon, in keeping with her former role, and has safeguarded the yacht's place in the nation's heritage for future generations.

BRITANNIA is now a five star visitor attraction and one of the UK's premier corporate hospitality venues.

Built by John Brown’s Shipyard on Clydebank

Commissioned for service

Sailed the oceans for 43 years and 334 days, carrying the Royal Family on 968 official visits and calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries

Picked up refugees from an outbreak of civil strife and ferried them to the relative safety of Mogadishu

Government announced that Her Majesty's yacht would be taken out of service

Decommissioned at Portsmouth Naval Base

Vessel moved to port of Leith, Scotland for preservation as a visitor attraction

Classic Boat: Rule Britannia, May 2003 Norman Middlemiss, Shipping - Today & Yesterday: A Diamond Jubilee Tribute - 60 years of Royal yachts and launches,   pp22-24, June 2012   

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Honeymoons and holidays - How much do you know about the Royal Yacht Britannia?

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the Royal Britannia. Getty

The Royal Yacht Britannia served the Queen for 44 years from its launch on April 16th, 1953 until it was decommissioned in 1997.

Editor's note: Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-serving monarch passed away on Sept 8, 2022, aged 96. Now, BHT takes a look back at some of the most popular stories which arose during her 70-year reign. 

It seemed very fitting that, just as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was celebrating becoming the longest-serving monarch in British history, I should be visiting one of her most faithful and loyal servants. 

The Britannia was actually commissioned by the Queen’s father, King George VI. Sadly, he died on February 6, 1952, just two days after the order to build a new Royal Yacht had been given to John Brown & Company in Clydebank. This meant, however, that the Queen was given the opportunity to play an important role in the design and fitting out of the ship to reflect the personal tastes of Her Majesty and Prince Phillip.

The Royal Yacht has been described as two ships in one, with the operational side of the ship, where the naval personnel lived and worked, in the area forward of the mainmast, and the Royal Apartments occupying the rear.

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Yet, if Britannia was thought of as two ships it also served a dual purpose. The Royal Yacht has been described by the Queen as the place where she could “truly relax.” The Queen had said that “Britannia is to be at times the home of my husband and myself and of our family.” This was achieved partly in the understated design of the Royal apartments and also by the use of personal photographs and items from previous Royal Yachts, all giving a country house atmosphere to the whole experience.

Royal Yacht

In addition to being a home for the family, however, it also had a diplomatic role, serving as a base for state visits and later for trade missions. Indeed, the State Dining Room, the grandest room onboard, was the scene of numerous formal banquets involving many illustrious guests, ranging from Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher to Presidents Reagan, Clinton, Mandela, and Yeltsin, who were all entertained there. Very few people, of whatever nationality, ever refused an invitation to dine on Britannia .

Even though being on board Britannia allowed Her Majesty to relax, she was still faced with affairs of state, and would spend several hours each day working on official documents, ferried to wherever the Royal Yacht was in the world in their distinctive red dispatch boxes. The Queen’s sitting room on the ship was also her office. Prince Phillip had his own sitting room, a much more masculine design, although he referred to it as his study.

JONATHAN EASTLAND/ALAMY

How many bedrooms are on the ship?

The Queen’s bedroom and Prince Philip’s have a connecting door and both had buzzers by the bed so that they could summon a steward at any time. Each room had a bathroom, equipped with a thermometer so that the Royal bath water was always at the correct temperature.

Although both bedrooms are quite modestly decorated and fitted out, Her Majesty’s bedroom, described as having “floral charm,” included a silk panel, specially commissioned in 1953, above her bed. Prince Philip’s, as one might expect from a former Navy officer, was finished in darker timber, again giving it a slightly more masculine look.

There are two further bedrooms on the Shelter deck, including one known informally as the honeymoon suite which houses the only double bed on board. Four newly married Royal couples have used the room; Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones in 1960, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

Just along from the Royal bedrooms is the Verandah Deck, which also served a dual function as a leisure area for the family or a reception area during official visits. Among its furnishings is an impressive binnacle—a receptacle for a compass. The binnacle, originally carved from a single piece of teak, was one of several items rescued by Prince Philip from the previous Royal Yacht, Victoria & Albert III , having originally been part of Queen Victoria’s yacht, Royal George . Beside the Verandah Deck is the Sun Lounge, described as the Queen’s favorite room, a place where Her Majesty could really relax with the family, take tea or perhaps enjoy a drink.

PRESSELECT/ALAMY

Britannia carried a crew of 21 officers and 220 yachtsmen (known as “yotties”), who were required to carry out their duties in a way that allowed Her Majesty to relax completely. This regime, known as “unobtrusive excellence,” meant that most orders were given using sign language and crew members wore sneakers to further minimize noise.

In Britannia ’s ambassadorial role, during its working life, the ship made more than 700 visits to countries in the British Commonwealth and across the world. Nevertheless, it was difficult in the modern world to justify the existence of a Royal Yacht.

In 1994, the decision was finally taken to decommission Britannia . Just three years later the British Government announced that it would not be replaced. It was decided, however, that unlike its predecessors, the yacht would not be scuttled, but would go on show as a tourist attraction at a location to be decided. There was stiff competition to host the Royal Yacht, but the port of Leith, near Edinburgh, was successful.

The decommissioning of Britannia in Portsmouth on December 11, 1997, was an emotional moment for all concerned, with Her Majesty, Prince Philip and members of the crew all striving to keep their feelings in check.

Her Majesty’s loss has been the public’s gain, presenting a unique opportunity to get a fascinating glimpse of the life of the Royal family and their relationship with this amazing ship.

* Originally published in March 2016.

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• 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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Photos show what it's like onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, the queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

• The Royal Yacht Britannia was the royal family's private yacht from 1953 to 1997.
• It's five stories tall, had more than 240 staff, and was known as the queen's "floating palace."
• Britannia is now anchored in Leith, Scotland, and reopens as a tourist attraction on May 12.

For 44 years, the Royal Yacht Britannia carried the queen and members of the royal family around the world.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia

Built in 1953, it logged more than 1 million miles and became known as the queen's "floating palace."

The five-story ship was part royal residence and part Royal Navy ship, with a full-time staff of more than 240 royal yachtsmen and officers.

The queen traveled on the ship for tours abroad, during which she would meet with dignitaries both on land and onboard.

She also used it for vacations like the royal family's annual summer cruise to the Western Isles of Scotland.

The queen once said that "Britannia is the one place where I can truly relax."

Four royal couples used the ship for their honeymoons, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981.

In 1997, the Labour government decommissioned the ship, citing costs as a primary reason. The Britannia cost about £11 million to run each year, Reuters reported.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia , Reuters

While the queen has yet to build a new yacht, that wasn't the end of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

One year later, it opened as a public museum in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland.

The ship is set to reopen on May 12, almost six months after it closed in November due to the pandemic.

Source: Royal Yacht Britannia , BBC

Visitors will be able to step into spaces like the teak-lined sun lounge, the queen's favorite room, where she took her breakfast and afternoon tea.

The queen's bedroom, featuring a vanity table, writing desk, and twin bed, is also on display. The queen and Prince Philip slept separately while onboard the Britannia.

The largest room on the ship is the state dining room, where the queen entertained dignitaries like Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher. The room could fit 56 guests.

Nearby is the state drawing room, which served as a place for the royal family to relax as well as a reception area for guests.

Toward the front of the ship are rooms where the staff lived and operated, like the 24-hour laundry room. Here, yachtsmen and officers would change outfits up to six times per day.

The former royal yachtsmen, known as "yotties," now reunite annually to help maintain the ship.

The clocks on the Royal Yacht Britannia don't get touched. They are permanently stopped at 3:01 p.m., the time when the queen stepped off the ship for the last time.

Prince Philip once said that the ship occupies a unique place in royal history. "Almost every previous sovereign has been responsible for building a church, a castle, a palace, or just a house," he said, according to the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. "The only comparable structure in the present reign is Britannia."

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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. 

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“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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King Charles Visits His Mother Queen Elizabeth's Beloved Royal Yacht in Scotland

The impressive vessel even surfaced in season 5 of 'The Crown'

Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world's most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.

Andrew Milligan - Pool/Getty 

King Charles is back on board the Royal Yacht Britannia before his coronation celebration in Scotland.

On Monday, the King stepped out in Edinburgh for the first Royal Week of his reign. King Charles, 74, is continuing Queen Elizabeth ’s tradition of spending a special summer week in Scotland and made a meaningful visit to the royal yacht on his first day there.

The Royal Yacht Brittania, otherwise known as Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, was launched in April 1953, one month before Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. The 412-foot vessel was known as the royal family’s "floating residence" during its 44 years of service and sailed over 1 million nautical miles on 968 state visits as they entertained world leaders like Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan and Rajiv Gandhi. Several royal couples also honeymooned on the ship, including Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, and they later used it for official trips with Prince William and Prince Harry .

Diana Archive/Getty

RELATED: King Charles Is Having a Coronation Celebration! All About What's Happening in Scotland

Though the Royal Yacht Britannia offered the royal family a unique privacy away from their public life and was described by Queen Elizabeth as “the one place I can truly relax,” per ship history , it would not sail forever. As seen in season 5 of The Crown (spoiler alert!), it was decommissioned in 1997 after it was determined the $22 million needed to keep the yacht going for another five years was too much for the government to spend. The Royal Yacht Britannia moved to Leith, Edinburgh, the following year, where it has operated as a tourist attraction since.

The King visited on Monday in honor of the docking’s 25th anniversary, his first formal visit to the ship since 1997. He was welcomed by Bob Downie, Chief Executive of The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, and toured the engine room, laundry and Rolls Royce garage. King Charles spent time with former crew members and staff before attending a reception with the Trust’s trustees and senior management team in the State Dining Room and Drawing Room, which surely evoked memories of celebrations past.

RELATED: What to Know About the Royal Yacht Britannia Featured on The Crown Season 5

Earlier on Monday, King Charles kicked off Royal Week with a visit to Kinneil House in Bo’ness, where he met representatives from organizations including The Prince’s Trust and planted a tree to mark the 100th anniversary of the estate becoming a public park.

He then moved to the Palace of the Holyroodhouse, the British sovereign’s official royal residence in Scotland, for the traditional Ceremony of the Keys.

According to The Scotsman , the annual ceremony marks the start of the monarch’s stay in Scotland. The sovereign is handed the keys of the city of Edinburgh and welcomed to "your ancient and hereditary kingdom of Scotland,” and then returns them to local elected officials for safekeeping.

Though the first Royal Week of Charles’ reign is only beginning, Monday’s Ceremony of the Keys was not the first of his royal reign.

The King participated in the ritual in September 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral Castle on Sept. 8. King Charles, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne were coincidentally in Scotland at the time, and the Queen’s two eldest children arrived at her side before she died.

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A Chronicle of Current Events

For human rights & freedom of expression in the ussr, alexander podrabinek’s trial, 15 aug 1978 (50.7).

<<No. 50 : November 1978>>

This section has been compiled largely from Information Bulletin s of the Working Commission (to Investigate the Use of Psychiatry for Political Purposes): 9 (9 June 1978), 10 (10 August) and 11, the special edition about the trial [note 1].

Arrest and Investigation

Alexander Podrabinek was arrested at the flat of some friends on 14 May 1978, the day before the beginning of the trial of Yury Orlov . At the time of the arrest a search was also conducted. Podrabinek was taken to the MVD Investigation Prison on Matrosskaya Tishina St.

Alexander Podrabinek (b. 1953)

Alexander Pinkhosovich PODRABINEK was born in 1953 in Elektrostal (Moscow Region). In 1970, after leaving secondary school, he enrolled at a medical institute, but left after a year.

In 1974 Podrabinek enrolled at a college to train as a doctor’s assistant. From 1974 to 1977 he worked in the ambulance service and before his arrest he worked for several months as a paramedic.

Alexander Podrabinek was one of the organizers of the “Working Commission to Investigate the Use of Psychiatry for Political Purposes” ( CCE 44.10 ; CCE 45.14; CCE 47.3; CCE 48.12 and CCE 49.10 ).

CCE 44, CCE 45, CCE 46, CCE 47 & CCE 48.7 provide information about the persecution of Alexander Podrabinek .

On the day after his arrest another four searches were carried.

The homes of Tatyana Velikanova , a member of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Tatyana Osipova , a member of the Working Commission, Vyacheslav Bakhmin and Leonid Ternovsky (who became a member of the Working Commission on 24 May 1978) were all seached.

The case against Alexander Podrabinek , as became evident after his arrest, had been opened by the Moscow Region Procurator’s office under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code) at the end of December 1977: his elder brother Kirill was arrested at this time ( CCE 48.7 ). The investigator was V.M. Guzhenkov. Soon after Podrabinek’s arrest Guzhenkov said that the charges against him were connected only with his book Punitive Medicine (CCE 44, CCE 45 & CCE 46) [note 2].

• On 20 May an Open Letter “To Compatriots and the World Public” (127 signatures) began to circulate. It protested against the arrest of Alexander Podrabinek and called for support in fighting for his release;
• A similar document (No. 51) was published by the Moscow Helsinki Group;
• on 24 May another (signed by Bakhmin and Ternovsky) was issued by the Working Commission;
• On 24 May Pinkhos Abramovich PODRABINEK, father of Kirill and Alexander, issued an appeal “To all People of Goodwill”.

On 29 May 1978, Bakhmin was summoned for interrogation.

He refused to answer questions concerning Podrabinek and his book, saying the charge against Alexander Podrabinek was absurd: he considered it immoral to take part in an investigation of the case.

As early as 2 June 1978, Guzhenkov informed Bakhmin , Alexander Podrabinek’s legal representative, that the investigation was coming to a close and it was necessary to engage a defence attorney. Knowing Podrabinek’s wishes in this matter, Bakhmin invited the barrister S. Shalman, who agreed to conduct Podrabinek’s defence.

At the time, Shalman was on holiday and despite his consent to act as Podrabinek’s defence the managers of the legal consultation office refused to call him back. For his part, Guzhenkov did not want to postpone the closing of the case.

On 13 June 1978, the investigation of the case of Alexander Podrabinek closed.

On 19 June, the investigative agencies proposed another defence attorney. Podrabinek refused to engage him. In this situation Bakhmin, in accordance with Podrabinek’s wish, invited the British barrister Louis Blom-Cooper QC to defend him at the trial. At the same time L.G. Machkovsky was engaged to help A. Podrabinek study the case materials.

On 21 June Machkovsky began reading the case materials: there were four volumes in all, one of which consisted of the book Punitive Medicine (1977). On 30 June, the document certifying the completion of the study of the case was signed. The case was transferred to a court.

In mid-June, Professor Linford Rees (CCE 49.19), President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (United Kingdom), sent a letter to Brezhnev:

“Dear President Brezhnev, “I have been asked by the Council of my College to write to you to express our members’ concern at reports of the arrest of Mr. A. Podrabinek … “We hope that you might take a personal interest in this case and ensure that if Mr. Podrabinek is brought to trial the trial is conducted openly. “The circumstances of this case puzzle us. We realize that the laws of our two countries are different, but it is difficult for us, on the reports we have heard, to understand what Mr. Podrabinek has done that is, in any way, criminal.”

In June 1978, the College set up a Committee to deal with questions of the abuse of psychiatry. An international committee to defend A. Podrabinek was also founded. Its members included, in particular, the British historian Peter Reddaway and the British psychiatrist Gary Low-Beer (CCE 49.19).

Yury Belov ( CCE 48.12 ) and Mikhail Kukobaka (CCE 43), former political prisoners held in psychiatric hospitals whose notes were used in A. Podrabinek’s book, wrote to the Moscow Region Procurator’s Office, asking to be questioned as witnesses in the Podrabinek case; their request was turned down.

Belov was told (not in writing) that Podrabinek’s guilt was already proven and that the investigation had no use for his testimony.

On 13 July 1978, a hearing of witnesses testimony in the case of A. Podrabinek, presided over by Blom-Cooper, took place in London. Nine witnesses [note 3] spoke, in particular, a former official of the Serbsky Institute, psychiatrist Yury Novikov [note 4] (CCE 46.15).

Written testimonies and tape-recordings were reviewed [note 5].

On 15 July, Mikhail Kukobaka proposed to Blom-Cooper that his notes on the Sychyovka Special Psychiatric Hospital (SPH) be added to the file of testimony.

On 20 July, Victor Nekipelov , a member of the Moscow Helsinki Group, sent Blom-Cooper excerpts from Kukobaka’s four letters about the Psychiatric Hospitals in Vladimir and Mogilyov (Belorussia). Nekipelov also requested that his book The Institute of Fools (CCE 42) be used as testimonial evidence [note 6].

Blom-Cooper announced in London that the Soviet Embassy had promised to issue him a visa for a trip to the USSR. He did not receive the visa in time, however, to attend the trial of Alexander Podrabinek .

On 18 July 1978, an agreement was reached with E.S. Shalman to defend Podrabinek in court.

The Moscow Region Court examined the case of Alexander Podrabinek , charged under Article 190-1 (RSFSR Criminal Code ), on 15 August 1978.

The hearing took place in Elektrostal (Moscow Region) in an Assizes session presided over by R.V. Nazarov, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Regional Court.

The prosecution counsel was Suvorov, Deputy Procurator of the Moscow Region; the defence counsel was Shalman.

The trial was due to begin at 9 am, but at 6 am the part of the building in which the trial was to take place was already ringed by a cordon of uniformed and plainclothes police.

Alexander Podrabinek’s friends arrived at 8.30 am to be told that there were no places left. “We have already filled the hall in order to maintain order,” a young policeman declared, with provincial naivety. The day before, Vyacheslav Bakhmin appealed to Judge Nazarov, requesting to be admitted to the trial as the legal representative of the accused.

Nazarov expressed bewilderment: it was a normal criminal case, anyone who wanted could be present. The following day, however, Nazarov himself had to stand in the rain and rummage in his briefcase for his pass until a plainclothes man ran out and conducted him through the cordon.

Several minutes before the trial began, the accused’s father Pinkhos Podrabinek and his own wife Alla Khramtsova (she left half-way through the day in order to feed her child and was not allowed back) were admitted to the courtroom. No other relatives or friends of Alexander Podrabinek could get in. At 10.30 am some of his friends made a phone call to Moscow from the post office, which was located in the same building as the courtroom. After that the connection with Moscow was cut off.

At the beginning of the hearing, Alexander Podrabinek submitted a series of petitions to the court, requesting that certain documents be added to the case file:

• Statutes on Psychiatric Hospitals;
• Ministry of Health directives concerning hospital food;
• the international classification of illnesses;
• indictments and psychiatric reports on 30 political prisoners formerly held in psychiatric hospitals;
• reports on the examinations of Pyotr Starchik and Yury Belov carried out by British psychiatrist Gary Low-Beer;
• the medical history of Radchenko and the medical report on his death;
• the post-mortem report on Dekhnich.

Podrabinek also petitioned for the following to be called as witnesses: the psychiatrist Fyodorov, former inmates Yury Belov, Mikhail Kukobaka, and Pyotr Grigorenko ; and N.Ya. Shatunovskaya (mother of Olga Joffe [ CCE 11.7 ; trial, CCE 15.2 ] who was compulsorily interned in the Kazan SPH).

Podrabinek further requested that the following be procured: the two-volume edition of Mashkovsky’s Medicinal Remedies ; several copies of A Chronicle of Current Events and the Information Bulletin of the Working Commission; the 1977 book by Bloch and Reddaway on psychiatric hospitals in the Soviet Union; and issues of the Korsakov Journal of Neurology & Psychiatry containing information about the International Congress of Psychiatrists in Honolulu (CCE 47).

Podrabinek also asked the court (a) to engage an Italian-Russian interpreter, since the case materials included documents in Italian (materials of the Sakharov Hearings); (b) to allow him (Podrabinek) to hear the tape-recordings of his interrogations; (c) to call the British barrister Blom-Cooper to the trial as defence counsel; and (d) to arrange for the trial to be relayed to all interested.

Podrabinek gave reasons justifying each petition, almost all of which were supported by his defence counsel. The court rejected all the petitions.

Podrabinek then announced that he was dispensing with the services of his defence counsel Shalman and would conduct his own defence. After several altercations among themselves the Judge and his lay assessors complied with this petition.

Podrabinek further stated that two Articles of the RSFSR Criminal Procedural Code (18: “The openness [glasnost] of the court examination”; and 20: “The comprehensive, full and objective investigation of the circumstances of the case”) had not been observed by the court.

The prosecutor (procurator) and the panel of judges adhered to the Communist ideology and were obliged to fulfil the tasks set by the Party in order to keep their jobs. In this sense they were interested parties. On this basis, A. Podrabinek challenged the whole composition of the court. The court rejected his challenge.

Then Alexander Podrabinek made the following declaration:

“I do not want an illusion of justice. My lawyer is not, in actual fact, in a position to conduct my defence. For this reason I have dispensed with him as my defence counsel at the trial. “Henceforth, moreover, I shall take no further part in the trial. I do not participate in staged performances of this kind. I have no talent as an actor and therefore shall not take part in this show, even as an extra. “I demand to be taken from the courtroom.” The court attempted to ignore Podrabinek’s last demand. He behaved in such a demonstrative manner (smoking and whistling), however, that when the questioning of witnesses began, the court was obliged to take him out of the courtroom, citing Article 263 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure. The Judge issued a ruling that Podrabinek could submit a petition at any time and return to the courtroom. Podrabinek immediately stated that he wanted to return when the time came to make his final speech.

According to the indictment:

“Podrabinek A.P…. is charged with preparing several copies of a document entitled Punitive Medicine when he was living in Elektrostal, Moscow Region, and working in Moscow from 1975 to 1977 and circulating it. “In this book Podrabinek libels Soviet democracy and the country’s domestic policies. He compares the regime in the USSR with totalitarian fascism. He makes assertions about the use in our country of ‘repressive psychiatric measures’, and about the premeditated placing in psychiatric hospitals, for their beliefs, of people known to be sane, and states that they were tortured in psychiatric institutions. “Podrabinek addressed this document to international organizations and circulated it among his friends in Moscow. The document was used by imperialist propaganda to stir up a campaign of slander against the Soviet Union.”

The indictment cites assertions in the book Punitive Medicine which, allegedly, bear no relation to reality. In the book Podrabinek writes that in July 1975 Anatoly Ivanovich Levitin, a patient in the Sychovka SPH (Smolensk Region, west-central Russia), was killed on the command of Doctor N.P. Smirnov. Levitin was seized during an escape bid. The indictment says: “The case materials, however, have established that there never was a patient of this name in the Sychovka SPH.”

M.M. Fyodorov, chief doctor of the SPH, appearing as a witness at the trial, declared that there had been no instances of murder in the Sychovka SPH and there had been no patient there called Levitin. Speaking immediately after Fyodorov, a junior doctor from the Sychovka SPH, V.V. Moskalkov, said that in 1975 a patient had been killed while attempting to escape. But he could not recall his name.

The book cites a letter written by Mikhail Kukobaka in which he relates that the orderly Sasha Dvorenkov beat patients sadistically at the Sychovka SPH. The indictment says in this respect:

“On page 141 mention is made of a certain Sasha Dvorenkov, who allegedly beat the patients. From the information received from Sychovka SPH it can be concluded that such a person never worked at the hospital.”

Other witnesses questioned in court were:

• V. D. Steshkin, the chief doctor of Leningrad SPH , who said that “normal methods of treatment were used in the hospital; other methods were not used if there was no need for them”;
• Abrosimov, head of the Smolensk SPH ;
• T. A. Kotova, a section head of the Oryol SPH ;
• F. Svyatsky, former chief doctor of the Chernyakhovsk SPH ;
• A, G. Semiryozhko, chief doctor of the Dnepropetrovsk SPH ;

Also called as witnesses were V.G. Vvedensky and his wife G. I. Zhabina. After the couple made a report a search was carried out on 14 March 1977 at the flat of E.V. Bobrovich (CCE 44.6, where the surname is misspelt). It was then that the manuscript of Punitive Medicine first fell into the hands of the KGB.

In the absence of defence counsel and the accused the court questioned the witnesses very quickly.

The Procurator concluded his speech in the following way:

“The heaviest sentence possible under Article 190-1 of the RSFSR Criminal Code should be imposed on the accused. Of course, he would very much like the Article to be political. That was why he played out the spectacle we have watched. He thought he would receive seven years under Article 70, but even the degree of punishment has let him down. “The maximum is not seven, but three years. Considering that this is his first criminal offence and that he is only 25 years old, I request that a sentence of five years exile be imposed, so that he may be re-educated in a labour collective.”

After an adjournment of two hours the sentence was announced: with the application of Article 43 (RSFSR Criminal Code: “mitigating circumstances”), Podrabinek was given five years exile [note 7].

SOPHIA KALISTRATOVA

An Undelivered Speech

A detailed description of the trial of Alexander Podrabinek is given in the 11th issue of the Working Commission’s Information Bulletin .

This also contains Sophia V. Kalistratova ’s “Speech not Delivered at the RSFSR Supreme Court during the Review on Appeal of the Case of A. Podrabinek”; Yury Belov ’s “Testimony”, which he wanted to give at the trial; Victor Nekipelov ’s declaration; and passages from the four letters written by Mikhail Kukobaka (see above).

At the beginning of her undelivered speech Kalistratova states:

“The materials to which I have access on the case of Podrabinek give grounds to assert that the laws operating in our country have been violated (and are constantly and relentlessly being violated) from the moment criminal proceedings were instituted against Podrabinek until this day. “This is no empty assertion and, so far as my strength and resources allow, I shall attempt to confirm what I say.”

The manuscript of Podrabinek’s “Punitive Medicine” was confiscated by the KGB in March 1977 (CCE 44.6). The investigative agencies regarded the text as criminal. They were therefore obliged, in accordance with Article 3 of the RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure, to institute criminal proceedings at once. “Acting outside any procedural norms laid down by law”, however, the authorities put a tail on Podrabinek; and in an attempt to force him to leave the USSR, threatened and blackmailed him.

Article 276 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that “all petitions concerning the demanding and verification of evidence relevant to the case should be met without exception”. The court brazenly contravened this law and by rejecting all the accused’s petitions “has completely deprived Podrabinek of the chance to defend himself”.

In particular, the reference to the ‘non-responsibility’ of a number of witnesses whose appearance was requested by Podrabinek was unlawful. Kalistratova explains that neither a person’s non-responsibility, as established by some court in the past, nor the fact of his having been treated in a psychiatric hospital pre-determines his mental incompetence as regards being a witness.

Where there is any doubt, Article 79 of the Code of Criminal Procedure specifies that the court must verify the competence of an individual to appear as a winess by means of an examination.

Article 20 of the Code states that the court must “investigate the moral and ethical sides of the accused’s character”.

“Had people who knew Sasha [Alexander] been questioned, it would have become clear: Alexander and slander are incompatible.”

Despite the real meaning of Article 43 (RSFSR Criminal Code) the court referred to this article in sentencing A. Podrabinek to exile. Kalistratova comments that such a violation, committed for the first time in 1968 at the Red Square “demonstrators”’ trial (CCE 4.1 , [Kalistratova was a defence attorney at that trial, Chronicle ], is a constant occurrence in political trials.

Involuntarily, Kalistratova notes, the court demonstrated the highly reliable character of the materials assembled by Podrabinek:

“of 300 factual episodes cited in his book only 13 figure in the indictment. Considering the procedural infringements committed by the court, “with regard to these 13 episodes, a lack of correspondence with reality of the facts set out in Podrabinek’s manuscript has not been established”.

The infringements of the law continued after the sentence was imposed:

“According to Article 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an individual sentenced to a punishment not involving loss of freedom should be quickly released from custody in the courtroom. “Yet Sasha Podrabinek was taken back to prison under escort … Moreover, before the period allowed for an appeal had finished, Sasha had already been transferred to the city’s Transit Prison No. 3 at Krasnaya Presnya. “Article 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that a convicted person held in custody must be given a copy of the verdict no later than three days after it has been read out. “As of 30 August, I am reliably informed that Podrabinek has not yet been given a copy of the verdict.”

Kalistratova concludes:

“Alexander Podrabinek is a dissenter. In accordance with his convictions, he fought for the rights of the mentally disturbed and those of sane people who for political ends were declared insane. But he is no slanderer. He acted within the boundaries of the law and did not commit a crime. “The above are the legal grounds on which I base my assertion that the sentence in the case of Podrabinek should be annulled, and the criminal case against him closed, due to the absence of a corpus delicti.”

On 17 August 1978, at a meeting with his father Pinkhos, Alexander Podrabinek said that during the pre-trial investigation he did not sign a single record of interrogation, although Investigator Guzhenkov had tried by using threats to make him take part in the investigation.

The same day Podrabinek was transferred to the Krasnaya Presnya Transit Prison in Moscow.

On 16 August 1978, two documents were presented to a press conference for foreign correspondents:

[1] an “Appeal to Foreign Psychiatric Associations” by V. Bakhmin and L. Ternovsky, members of the Working Commission, and

[2] an “Appeal to Psychiatrists Throughout the World” by S.M. Polikanov (CCE 47), a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

At the same press conference, the previously anonymous consultant psychiatrist of the Working Commission, Alexander Alexandrovich VOLOSHANOVICH (who works in a psychiatric hospital in the Moscow suburbs), stepped into the open.

At the request of the Working Commission, Voloshanovich related, he had carried out 27 examinations: some of his conclusions have been quoted in the Chronicle (CCE 48 & nd CCE 49). In not a single case could he find grounds for compulsory hospitalization. [note 8]

Not until the beginning of September 1978, was Alexander Podrabinek given a copy of the verdict. He was not allowed to study the record of the trial until 17 October (according to Articles 264 and 265 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, this should take place no later than six days after the hearings had ended).

On 23 November 1978, the RSFSR Supreme Court examined Podrabinek’s appeal [note 9]. The sentence was left as it was. (As previously happened in May, Vyacheslav Bakhmin was dispatched on an urgent business trip at this time.)

==============================

[1] Information Bulletin No. 6 has been published in English by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International while No. 11 has been published by Amnesty’s British Section.

Nos. 1-5 and 6-9 have appeared in Russian in the Volnoe slovo periodical, Frankfurt, 1978, Nos. 31-32. In all, Nos. 1-14 of the Information Bulletin add up to some 400 pages.

[2] Published in Russian as Karatelnaya meditsina (Khronika Press: New York, 1979). A 25-page summary was published in English by Amnesty International, International Secretariat in 1977.

A full English edition appeared in 1980 and provided the occasion for another trial in Yakutia (CCE 61.2) to which Podrabinek had been exiled.

[3] Corrected from “five”. The nine were: Yury Novikov, Vladimir Bukovsky, Ludmila Alexeyeva, Marina Voikhanskaya, Gary Low-Beer, P. Sainsbury, Natalya Gorbanevskaya, I. Glezer, Peter Reddaway.

Written or tape-recorded testimony was submitted by Pyotr Grigorenko, Valentin Turchin, Leonid Plyushch, A. Papiashvili, and Sidney Bloch.

[4] Dr. Yury Novikov’s testimony about Soviet psychiatry and its political abuse first appeared, between 22 March and 26 April 1978, in six articles in the West German weekly Der Stern (Hamburg).

[5] Louis Blom-Cooper, Q.C., and his assistant, barrister Brian Wrobel, compiled the evidence and their own commentary in a 54-page dossier. This they sent to the Moscow judicial authorities on 23 July 1978 for inclusion in the case materials, as required by Soviet law.

[6] Nekipelov’s Institute of Fools: Notes from the Serbsky was published in English in 1980 (Victor Gollancz: London).

[7] The sentence provoked protests from a number of medical and other groups, and also from the British government. In particular, the UK Foreign Secretary, Dr. David Owen, deplored it.

Owen’s spokesman was reported as saying on 16 August 1978 that the case was “particularly disturbing”. “[T]he Soviet authorities action appeared to relate to Mr. Podrabinek’s investigation of the misuse of psychiatry for political ends,” he continued. “This was a subject which aroused very strong feelings in Britain and about which Dr. Owen personally was very concerned.”

[8] Copies of 23 of Voloshanovich’s reports are in the possession of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Britain and other bodies. They are confidential documents. Extracts can be publicly quoted, however, should the examinees in question be forcibly hospitalized or in danger of such hospitalization.

[9] On 22 August 1978, Blom-Cooper and Wrobel sent a 14-page appeal to the RSFSR Supreme Court. This detailed many of the violations of legal procedure also noted by defence counsel Sophia Kalistratova.

=====================

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1st Special Air Defence Corps

1-й Особый корпус ПВО

Military Unit: 52096

Commanders:

• Major-General Porfiriy Konstantinovich Skornyakov, 1953 - 1954
• Major-General Nikolay Fedorovich Mikhaylov, 1954 - 1958
• Major-General Nikolay Grigorevich Filatov, 1958 - 1958
• Major-General Stepan Filippovich Vikhor, 1958 - 1960
• Major-General Mikhail Ivanovich Vasilev, 1960 - 1962
• Major-General Boris Aleksandrovich Korolev, 1962 - 1965
• Major-General Vladimir Grigorevich Malomuzh, 1965 - 1966
• Major-General Andrey Fedorovich Vuraki, 1966 - 1970
• Lieutenant-General Gleb Nikolaevich Tkachenko, 1970 - 1980
• Major-General Nikolay Andreevich Shatalov, 1980 - 1985
• Lieutenant-General Arkadiy Pavlovich Danilevich, 1985 - 1988
• Major-General Vladimir Ivanovich Vereskov, 1988 - 1992
• Major-General Leonid Vladimirovich Serebryakov, 1992 - 2001
• Major-General Valeriy Illarionovich Kotelnikov, 2001 - 2004
• Major-General Anatoliy Borisovich Alisov, 2004 - 2009
• Colonel Eduard Semenovich Sigalov, 2009 - 2011
• Colonel Konstantin Aleksandrovich Ogienko, 2011 - today

Activated 13.6.53 in Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast, as the Administration 2nd Sector.

1.12.53 renamed 1st Special Air Defence Corps.

Organisation 1960:

• 673rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Shcherbovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 635th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Stepanshchino, Moscow Oblast)
• 709th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Bessonovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 783rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Bereznetsovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 628th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Torbeevo, Moscow Oblast)
• 717th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Semyonovskoye, Moscow Oblast)
• 651st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Fenino, Moscow Oblast)
• 705th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Nizhnee Shakhlovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 728th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Kurilovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 597th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Britovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 614th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Pestovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 569th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Dolmatovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 561st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Ivino, Moscow Oblast)
• 549th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Klenovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 499th independent Communications Battalion (Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast)
• 217th Radio-Technical Center (Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast)

Organisation 1970:

• 1486th Technical Base (Tolbino, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 30574 - 55 19 33N, 37 27 31E
• 225th Technical Base (Belye Stolby, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 11282 - 55 19 24N, 37 53 23E

Organisation 1980:

• 217th Radio-Technical Center (Kashira, Moscow Oblast)

1.6.88 renamed 86th Air Defence Division .

Organisation 1988:

• 16th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Fenino, Moscow Oblast)
• 9th Radio-Technical Regiment (Kashira, Moscow Oblast)

1.10.94 renamed 86th Air Defence Brigade .

1.10.95 renamed 86th Air Defence Division .

Organisation 1995:

• 16th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Fenino, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31500
• 549th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Kurilovo, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 61991
• 614th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Pestovo, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 92574
• 635th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Stepanischevo, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 86646
• 705th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Verkhnee Shakhlovo, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 71476
• 9th Radio-Technical Regiment (Kashira, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 51858
• 9th independent Radar Company (Vysokinichi, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31499
• 1052nd independent Radar Company (Dolmatovo, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31499
• 1057th independent Radar Company (Petrovskoye, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31499
• 1070th independent Radar Company (Matyra, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31499
• 1253rd independent Radar Company (Dmitrievskoye, Tula Oblast) - military unit: 31499
• 499th independent Communications Battalion (Petrovskoye, Moscow Oblast) - military unit: 31788

1.5.98 renamed 96th Air Defence Brigade .

1.6.01 renamed 9th Air Defence Division .

2009 renamed 5th Aerospace Defence Brigade .

1.12.2014 renamed 5th Aerospace Defence Division .

Organisation 2015:

• 606th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast)
• 549th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Ilinskoye, Moscow Oblast)
• 614th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Pestovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 629th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Kablukovo, Moscow Oblast)
• 799th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Oblast)
• 9th Radio-Technical Regiment (Olkhovka, Moscow Oblast)
• Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast, 1953 - today [55 32 28N, 37 47 00E]

Subordination:

• 1st Air Defence Army for Special Use , 12.53 - 1.12.94
• 1st Air Defence Corps , 1.12.94 - today

News from non-English countries

"They fell to the ground with screams": Russian Guards fired at children single near Moscow - there is a casualty

2023-08-20T20:58:57.477Z

Highlights: In Russia, in the city of Elektrostal (Moscow region), during demonstrations, Rosgvardia soldiers began shooting at spectators with children from machine guns with blank cartridges. One child received serious damage from a rebounded cartridge case. In the video, a child can be heard crying and screaming violently. It is also interesting that Russia recently arranged a solemn farewell to Vladimir Shestakov, convicted for the murder of a child, who became a mercenary of PMC "Wagner" and was liquidated in the war in Ukraine.

In Russia, in the city of Elektrostal (Moscow region), during demonstrations, Rosgvardia soldiers began shooting at spectators with children from machine guns with blank cartridges.

So far, one injured child is known.

This was reported by the local Telegram channel of the Cheka-OGPU.

"Small children were clutching their heads screaming and falling to the ground. Not without injuries. The child received serious damage from a rebounded cartridge case," the report said.

One of the witnesses to the incident posted a video. It was her child who was shot by the Russian Guards. In the video, a child can be heard crying and screaming violently.

After the woman realized that her child had been wounded, she called her husband and doctor.

Meanwhile, Russian occupier Ivan Alekseev in the war in Ukraine after a drunken quarrel killed his colleague and tried to cover up the crime, saying it was the work of "Ukrainian saboteurs."

It is also interesting that Russia recently arranged a solemn farewell to Vladimir Shestakov, convicted for the murder of a child, who became a mercenary of PMC "Wagner" and was liquidated in the war in Ukraine.

• The suspect in the murder of a military volunteer was released from custody
• They will teach "patriotism": Russians in the occupied territories launch cadet classes
• Russia has created another training ground near Mariupol: how many soldiers are in the city

Source: tsn

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