The Entire History of the Royal Yacht Britannia in 33 Minutes

Royal Yacht Britannia was the 83rd royal yacht in a line begun in 1660. She was launched by Elizabeth II, hosted four US presidents and now sits beside a mall in Leith. The story opens with a contradiction. The first famous Britannia was a royal racing cutter. She was launched into the Clyde on 20 April 1893 for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. On 10 July 1936 she was sunk at St Catherine's Deep by the warship HMS Winchester under Captain W.N.T. Beckett, because King George V could not bear the thought of another owner. HMY Britannia was designed with input from Sir Victor Shepheard, A. N. Harrison, King George VI and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She was built at John Brown, Clydebank, and launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953. Captain J. S. Dalglish commissioned her in 1954, and her maiden voyage took her via Malta to Tobruk. During the Cold War she became a floating instrument of British diplomacy, commanded by flag officers. In 1959 she sailed the St Lawrence Seaway to Chicago and welcomed President Eisenhower. The film follows the royal honeymoons of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in 1973 and of Charles and Diana in 1981. It covers the 1986 Aden evacuation of more than a thousand refugees, the 1987 refit and the 1994 decision to retire her. It also tells the 1997 election row, Edward Heath's rebuke and the Hong Kong handover. Britannia was decommissioned at Portsmouth on 11 December 1997. Today she is a museum ship at Ocean Terminal in Leith, and the 84th royal yacht has never been built. Chapters: 00:00 The 83rd Royal Yacht 00:48 Royal Yachts Since 1660 01:56 The 1893 Racing Cutter Britannia 02:49 George V and the Yacht Sunk in 1936 04:51 Designing the New Britannia 05:41 Built at John Brown, Clydebank 06:31 Captain Dalglish and Commissioning 07:21 The Queen's First Voyage, 1954 08:36 Cold War Diplomacy at Sea 09:48 Eisenhower and the US Presidents 10:34 Harbours and Flag Officers 12:31 A Floating Wing of the Foreign Office 13:36 Royal Honeymoons: Anne and Charles 15:32 The 1986 Aden Evacuation 17:21 The 1987 Refit 18:21 The 1994 Decision to Retire Her 21:36 Edward Heath and the Election Row 22:57 Hong Kong 1997 23:52 Labour Says No 24:37 Decommissioned at Portsmouth 25:52 Cities Bid for Britannia 27:02 The Move to Leith 28:09 Museum Years and Bloodhound 30:20 Boris Johnson's New Royal Yacht 31:05 The 84th Royal Yacht 32:23 From Royal Yacht to Museum Subscribe for more of Britain's entire history, told from start to finish. #RoyalYachtBritannia #BritishHistory #QueenElizabethII #RoyalFamily