HMY Britannia was built at the shipyard of John Brown & Co. Ltd in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, being launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953 and commissioned on 11 January 1954.
Britannia was designed to be converted into a hospital ship in time of war, although this capability was never used. In the event of nuclear war it was intended that the Queen would take refuge aboard Britannia in the North West coast of Scotland.
The Royal Yacht’s last foreign mission was to convey the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten (now The Lord Patten of Barnes), and the Prince of Wales away from Hong Kong after its handover to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997.
There was some controversy over the siting of the ship, with some arguing that she would be better moored on the Clyde, where she was built, than in Edinburgh, with which the yacht had few links. However, her positioning in Leith coincided with a redevelopment of the harbour area, and the advent of Scottish devolution.
Her Majesty the Queen was reported to have wept at the decommissioning ceremony, which she attended along with most of the senior members of the Royal Family.
Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Core Collection, Britannia is now permanently moored as a five-star visitor attraction in the historic Port of Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, and is cared for by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, a registered Scottish charity.
Entrance to the yacht is via the Ocean Terminal development, and over 250,000 people visit Britannia every year. She is also one of the UK’s top evening events venues. On 18 May 2006, the Swiss-born Hollywood star and legendary first Bond girl, Ursula Andress, celebrated her 70th birthday on board the Royal Yacht. On 29 July 2011, a cocktail party was held on board the Britannia for Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall to celebrate their upcoming wedding; the yacht had been hired for the occasion.
