Day: 35 Km travelled: 106.27 km Steps: 19,618 (current record!) Location: Edinburgh (part 2; it was a long day!)
October 14th, 2017 (continued)
I couldn’t leave Edinburgh before visiting one more sight that I had long wished to see: the Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia (H.M.Y. Britannia)
Built in Scotland in the early 1950’s, the ship was the Queen’s favourite Royal Residence and she was famously photographed shedding a tear when it was decommissioned in 1997.
The Queen and other members of the Royal Family called the Royal Yacht home for over 40 years. During that period, it sailed a whooping one million miles around the world!
At over 412 feet, the yacht can accommodate 250 onboard. The crew was made up of Naval officers, appointed for a 2 year term of service and a group of Royal Yachtsmen. The Yachtsmen were volunteers from the Navy’s general service and after serving for 365 days, they were admitted in the The Permanent Royal Yacht Service. This meant that they could continue to serve onboard as long as they chose, with some crew serving over 20 years.
The Royal Yacht Britannia website describes what a usual day for the Queen would be like onboard the ship:
♦ Queen Elizabeth would often wake up at 7:30am for a cup of tea, which she always has without milk and sugar, followed by a breakfast in what was the Sun Lounge.
♦ She would then work on official documents all day, with buffet lunch and coffee breaks in-between.
♦ The evening would then be spent having dinner with the senior members of the Royal household and the Royal family, followed by films, games or puzzles into the evening.
There are 5 main decks that the public can tour, with a helpful audio guide included in the price of admission. The tour includes the rooms utilize by the Royal Family as well as the crew quarters, the engine rooms and the deck. 95% of the items exhibited are original items from when Britannia was in royal service and include furniture, artefacts, paintings and photographs.
The Queen’s office.
The Queen has often said that she adored her ‘country home at sea’ and it is only on H.M.Y. Britannia that she could fully relax and be herself. Touring the rooms, its easy to see, as all rooms are filled with personal items such as family photographs, books and keepsakes from previous voyages.
Personal photographs of the Queen and family in her office (above, left). It was incredible to see these personal mementoes and keepsakes in person! The photo on the right is of the State Drawing Room.
The Sun Lounge sits on the deck, with plenty of windows to allow the family to enjoy the view as they were sailing.
On one of her very first voyages, The Royal Yacht Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway en route to Chicago in 1959.
The Queen’s bedroom onboard is the only bedroom of a living monarch that can be viewed (behind a glass wall, but still) (left)
The most essential part of the ship, the bar (below)
There was a fully functioning sick bay & the vessel was even designed to act as a floating hospital in the event of war breaking out. The ship did, however, evacuate over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Aden, Yemen in ’86.
I’ve clearly missed out on my dream job…
A retired Rolls-Royce Phantom V state car, owned by the royal family in the 1960s, is on display in the purpose-built garage aboard Britannia. In the early days of her reign, the Queen visited many countries and a special-built (bullet-proof, windows to allow a view of the monarch, etc) car was required to be brought along as many countries and colonies would not be able to provide an appropriate method of transportation that guaranteed the Queen’s safety.
During long voyages at sea, the crew found creative ways to entertain themselves. ‘Wombat Tennis’ was one of the most infamous games played in the Wardroom Anteroom! The match began when the ‘ball’, a soft-toy wombat donated by one of The Queen’s Ladies-In-Waiting, was thrown into the ceiling fan and batted from one side of the room to another! Needless to say the wombat had many visits to the Sick Bay…
No visit would be complete without enjoying some tea & crumpets! Travellers often make sacrifices in order to fully immerse themselves in the local culture!