I love ships and naval history, and was sorry when the British decommissioned Her Majesty’s Yacht “Britannia” a few years ago but didn’t build a replacement.
The ship was a classy and secure way for the Royal Family to travel, was an impressive symbol of Britain abroad, was used a lot for trade conferences and the like (thus helping the British economy), and could be converted for use as a hospital ship in wartime (although I don’t think this was ever done, even during the Falklands War).
I understand it’d be a pretty expensive proposition, but… why not build a new one? If Tony Blair doesn’t want to ask Parliament to appropriate the funds (politically unpopular, I know), couldn’t the Queen get a loan (there must be plenty of banks that’d be glad to lend her the money) or dig into her own purse (she IS the wealthiest woman in Britain, after all), and build one herself? Hell, she might even find a shipyard eager for the prestige of being known as Yachtbuilder to the Queen that would give her a steep discount or even (less likely) do the job gratis.
H.M. could then donate the new yacht to the nation and have it commissioned into the Royal Navy, with the proviso that the Royal Family got first dibs on using it.
You’ve got it in a nutshell. It would cost a fortune. I just don’t think it would be politically saleable given that the popularity of the Royal family (though not of the Queen herself) has waned somewhat over the years. And I can’t see the Queen putting her own money into it. Why should she?
Oddly enough, today’s Trafalgar naval review is one of the few occasions when a royal yacht would have come in handy, with Her Majesty instead having to borrow HMS Endurance for the day.
IMHO, arguing the case for a royal yacht on economic or practical grounds misses the point - you either have one because the sheer conspicious extravagance of it impresses foreigners (especially envious foreign heads of state) or you don’t. But try selling that sort of argument to the taxpayer.
The king of Norway still has the K/S Norge (a reminder that the Scandanavian monarchies are not quite as low key as is sometimes supposed).
If indeed a Britannia II were built, it is unlikely that it could be built in the UK (the cruise liner Queen Mary 2, for example, was built in Saint-Nazaire in France). That wouldn’t go down too well, I’m sure.
With Britannia out of the way, it’s also about time to consider getting rid of the Royal Train.
Cunctator, you ask why H.M. should pay for it. As suggested above, it seems very unlikely, for political reasons, that Parliament would appropriate the funds. As I recall, the Queen was quite moved when the “Britannia” was decommissioned. Why wouldn’t she want a ship to take its place, to move about the world in privacy and style?
GorillaMan, obviously any ship may be vulnerable to missile attack, but would a new, perhaps better-protected yacht be less secure than any alternative means of transportation? According to the link which APB provided, the yacht was never used as a hospital ship and that potential designation was revoked in 1992. “Britannia” did help evacuate over 1,000 people from Aden during the civil war there in the 1960s, though. I, too, would like to see a balance sheet for her use as a conference center (I guess “Britannia” is still being used for that purpose now that she’s permanently moored in Lieth).
APB, thanks also for the link to the Trafalgar Naval Review. That would be a good time to have a royal yacht. I notice that the USS Saipan is the only US Navy warship participating - I wonder why such a limited presence? The French have six ships involved, the Belgians, Germans and Japanese have three each, and even South Korea has two! Maybe Uncle Sam doesn’t want to overshadow the proceedings…?
Any method of transporting the queen will involve all sorts of ancillary support. She doesn’t get driven anywhere without a police escort. The destinations for the royal train are under high security (all waste bins are removed from the stations, for example). The difference with the yacht is that the security would need to be protected by a Navy escort - add that to the costs!
In any case, it’s simply not a viable mode of transport, full stop. It would be a way to show off - and nobody in Britain wants the royals to be more extravagent.
Hmm, I dunno how practical a new royal yacht would be. As others have pointed out, security would be both hellish and expensive.
However, I actually have a very cool Britannia souvenir: In 1997, during the yacht’s final voyage before decommissioning, she made port in Savannah, Georgia, USA in mid-March. Savannah has one of the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, so I worked my butt off during the long festival weekend – driving a taxicab during the day for my mom’s company, tending bar at night. After sleeping all day on the eighteenth, Mom and I decided we’d celebrate our survival by going to a riverfront pub where we both liked the music and employees. Meanwhile, back aboard the Britannia, sailors had been given shore liberty for the evening. Mom and I spent the entire “relaxing” evening fending off advances from short, drunk men with funny accents. We decided to leave, and with a bartender’s help, made off with a Royal Yacht hat (I don’t know if that’s the right term, but you know what I mean.) In retrospect, I feel a bit guilty knowing that some guy named Callaghan had to report for duty the next morning with a raging hangover and without his hat. I don’t feel all that guilty, though, 'cause he was really, really obnoxious.
I don’t doubt that the Queen was moved when the *Britannia * was decommissioned. She probably had fond memories of it and the various travels she had made in it. In her place, I’d also have been a little chagrined at losing such a marvellous taxpayer-funded mode of transport.
But I think the Queen’s very much a realist and a pretty good businesswoman too. She’s said to be quite involved in the details of her various investment portfolios. I just think that she’d consider a new, very-expensive, non-income producing (at least for her) yacht to be a poor vessel in which to invest her funds.
Didn’t Her Majesty just rent a yacht last year for a family vacation? That seems like a much better option if the royals want to holiday at sea. The next time there’s a fleet review she can always “borrow” another RN ship.
Trying not to be spoilery–but the first episode of the second series of Sherlock began with The Detective being brought to Buckingham Palace on a matter requiring the utmost in discretion. He demurred…
This was one of the subjects on Radio 2’s phone-in yesterday, with Jeremy Vine.
It sounded like a viable idea to me, especially as the proposal said it would be built with private money in the form of donations from big business etc… and used predominantly as a catalyst for hosting business venture and smoozing deals. It was said that one day on board ‘Britannia’ ( in India ) in the 90s landed over 1 billion pounds worth of investment for the UK.
For those shouting ‘fortunes’ I believe the touted cost is in the region of £80 million. Not chump change, but hardly excessive for something that can potentially bring in many more times its value in investment potential. The design and construction of it creates jobs; the running and maintenance of it creates jobs; it can be a platform for wowing foreign businessmen and creating investment opportunities that can (ultimately) create jobs; it can be used by Sea Cadets for training and manoeuvres; it can act as a Flagship and symbol for the UK throughout and around the world.
With no public money touted as being involved in its creation (although from some accounts it could be a valid and prudent investment even with using public money) then, if that’s proved true, I can’t really see any specific downside at all, other than it seems excessive in the midst of the ‘credit crunch’ affecting most others.
But, perhaps the British public need a bit of cheering up, a bit of glamour, extravagance and razzamatazz, it’s a Jubilee year after all! ( it would definitely need to be designed, sourced and built locally though or the affects would be lost)
One of the benefits of the yacht (I’m not saying it’s enough to have kept it, but it is a benefit) was that it was basically a floating palace. It could be docked in any city with sea access, and it became somewhere for the royal party to stay and hold events. It wasn’t just a fun toy.
It’s sort of like the royal train. It’s not used because it’s the best form of transportation, but because it can turn any siding into a hotel.
