Monday 25 August 2008

AFA Edinburgh #1 Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia


The royal family used to travel internationally by yacht. The Britannia was the last in a long line of royal yachts. It was commissioned in 1950-something with the design closely overseen by the Queen. It was retired just a few years ago. It is permanently docked in Edinburgh. It is interesting to see, because it is not nearly as opulent as you would expect. It was designed to have the feel of a country home, and it does - sort of.
This is the Queen's bedroom. She and Prince Phillip do not share a bedroom, he has one done in his own style. They do have a connecting door. Notice the small bed? There is a guest bedroom that was used as the honeymoon suite for three weddings, Princess Anne's wedding, Prince Andrew, and Prince Charles and Diana. Charles had a large bed put in for his honeymoon so they could share. Obviously not a lucky honeymoon spot, Princess Anne divorced Mark, Prince Andrew divorced Fergie, and Prince Charles was going to divorce Diana but she died in the car wreck instead.

These shots are where the Queen entertained guests. There are pictures of many famous world leaders, including a couple of Presidents.

Here's a couple of miscellaneous pictures, the royal launch that would take the Queen to shore, a side view of the yacht to get an idea of the size (300+ feet long), and the family at the crew's bar.

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