Will the Royal Yacht Britannia be revived in tribute to Prince Philip?

Boris Johnson is reportedly under pressure to support a new iteration of the vessel, to be named HMY The Duke of Edinburgh
The Queen and Prince Philip on board the Royal Yacht Britannia during an official visit to Kuwait, 1979Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, who passed away on Friday 9 April aged 99. One idea being touted as a memorial to the late Duke of Edinburgh is to establish a new Royal Yacht Britannia, after the last royal vessel was decommissioned in 1997.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls from MPs, Cabinet ministers and even a former Britannia captain to support the construction of a new yacht, to be named HMY The Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen and Prince Philip with the Royal Yacht BritanniaPA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Despite coming at a potential cost of £190 million, there’s been renewed enthusiasm about the idea in the wake of Prince Philip’s death, which it’s thought could constitute a fitting tribute to the late royal. The Queen’s husband was Lord High Admiral from 2011 until his death and was closely involved in the commissioning and design of the previous royal yacht.

It’s been suggested that an announcement about the yacht, which would be a sister vessel to aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, could be timed to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year. The paper quotes a Cabinet minister as stating: ‘A ship would be a very fitting way of commemorating him.’

While some oppose the idea of such an expensive vessel serving a primarily symbolic function, it’s thought that more political support could be garnered if the yacht would also serve another function with more of a community benefit. The minister explains: ‘Britannia was built to be a hospital ship as well as a royal yacht. Building a vast pleasure cruiser is not something that anyone is going to support. But having a symbol of the nation that can travel the world, be used by the Royal Family and have another sensible purpose such as helping young people is a better scheme.’

Indeed back in 2018, the Telegraph reported that Prince Philip had privately been involved in plans for a new Britannia, telling friends that it could be used as a training vessel for apprentices. It’s also said that the yacht could feed into Boris Johnson’s new ship-building programme, which was set out last autumn, with the minister adding: ‘It could also be a flagship for reinvigorated British shipbuilding.’

The Royal Yacht BritanniaBryn Colton / Getty Images

In service from 1954 until 1997, the original Royal Yacht Britannia was the 83rd official royal yacht of a British monarch since Charles II became King in 1660. In her 43 years on the seas, she travelled over a million nautical miles around the globe, taking the Queen and Philip to such far-flung destinations as Fiji, Kuwait and San Diego.

The Duke himself travelled some 70,000 miles on Britannia. Writing in 2003, in the foreword to the yacht’s 310-page official history, he said that the end of the tradition ‘signalled the end of an unbroken succession of Royal Yachts dating back to the reign of King Charles II’, adding: ‘The combination of her ocean-going capacity and efficient management reflected our long maritime traditions and made an invaluable contribution to the prestige of this country.’

Having been retired in 1997 amid cost-cutting measures under Tony Blair’s Labour government, Britannia now resides at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions, she receives more than 300,000 visitors a year. The Telegraph adds that a secret naval design for a £100 million replacement was drawn up by naval staff and approved by Royal Family representatives at the time of her retirement, but the Labour Government did not consent to funding the plans.

The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne on the Royal Yacht Britannia at the Port of Southampton, 1958George Stroud / Daily Express / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Tory MP Craig MacKinlay, who has been heading up a Westminster group backing the idea of a new royal yacht, stated: ‘The towering figure that was the Duke of Edinburgh deserves a permanent tribute to his support for the country, the Commonwealth and the Queen. I can think of nothing better than a replacement for Royal Yacht Britannia bearing his name as the permanent memorial to his love of Commonwealth, Britain and the sea, reflecting his naval roots.’

Jake Berry, chairman of the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs, added: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh was well known for his love of Britannia – it is a fitting tribute to now create a new royal yacht named the Duke of Edinburgh in his memory and for the Queen.’ Ian Maiden, a millionaire financial adviser who has campaigned for a new yacht to connect the UK to Commonwealth countries after Brexit, also backed the idea, while Sam Armstrong, a spokesman for the Henry Jackson Society (which has called for a replacement vessel) stated: ‘As our research has found, a new Royal Yacht Britannia would be a massive boon for Global Britain’s soft power around the world, just as the Duke of Edinburgh was in an earlier time.’

Meanwhile Commander Tony Morrow, who served as the last captain aboard the Britannia, told The Telegraph: ‘With our knowledge and the basis of how Britannia ran, and supported UK plc as well as the Royal Family, what a wonderful asset that was to the nation. When we are thinking beyond where we are now with the sad news of the loss of His Royal Highness, to have continuation of a royal yacht in support of the UK would be very special.’

Number 10 sources are quoted as stating that a new royal yacht was a ‘nice idea’ but would have to be considered within the context or the UK’s more widespread shipbuilding plans.

Celebrating the style of the late Duke of Edinburgh
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