THE ROYAL YACHT, BRITANNIA
EDINBURGH
IMAGE NUMBER 1113
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia, is the former royal yacht of Queen Elizabeth II, in service from 1954 until 1997, she was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660. During her 43-years service, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe. Now Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ship is a popular attraction with over 300,000 visitors each year.
In 1997, the Conservative government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if reelected, while the Labour Party refused to disclose its plans. After Labour won the general election in May 1997, it announced the vessel was to be retired and no replacement would be built. The Royal Yacht's last foreign mission was to convey the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, and the Prince of Wales back from Hong Kong after its handover to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997. The Queen, normally stoic, is reported to have shed a tear at the decommissioning ceremony that was attended by most of the senior members of the Royal Family.
TECHNICAL NOTES
The image was taken with a hand-held Phase One 645XF Camera at ISO 1600. Exposure of 1/200th of a second and an aperture of F3.5. Schneider Kreuznach 45 mm lens with leaf shutter. The image was captured on a Phase One IQ3 100 megapixel digital back.