Britannia

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I name this ship Britannia, and I wish success to her and all who sail on her. There was an endless exultation when the young Queen Elizabeth baptised the Royal Yacht “Britannia” on April 16th 1953. The name was kept a secret until this moment.

“I name this ship Britannia, and I wish success to her and all who sail on her.” Der Jubel wollte kein Ende nehmen als die junge Queen Elizabeth am 16.4 1953 der königlichen Yacht den Namen “Britannia” gab. Der Name war bis zur Taufe ein gut gehütetes Geheimnis gewesen.

We couldn’t believe it but Tripadvisor called the Britannia the biggest attraction in GB. Well, well … Anyway, we Bookfayries really enjoyed visiting the Royal Yacht. We read that the Britannia was running smoothly for 44 years and sailed more than one million nautical miles before she came to a rest and became Edinburgh’s biggest tourist attraction – besides the castle we Bookfayries would say.

Hättet ihr das gedacht? Laut Tripadvisor ist Britannia die größte Touristenattraktion ganz Großbritanniens. Naja, jedenfalls fanden wir Buchfeen den Besuch auch voll toll! Die 125 m lange königliche Yacht, so lasen wir, war 44 Jahre im Dienst und legte etwa 1,1 Mio. sm zurück, um nun als Touristenmagnet in Edinburgh geehrt zu werden.

“The overall idea was to give the impression of a country house at sea”, explained the interior designer Hugh Casson. We would call the Britannia an easy version of Buckingham Palace on the water. Her Majesty play her part in designing the inside of the yacht. She wanted an easy décor. Her ship ought to be cozy and not ostentatious. Of course it always depends on your standards. By all means the royals live on their ship much more intricate than we Bookfayries in our beloved Master’s house.

“The overall idea was to give the impression of a country house at sea”, erklärte der Innenarchitekt Sir Hugh Casson. Die Britannia war so etwas wie der lässigere Buckingham Palast auf dem Meer. Her Majesty hatte an der Inneneinrichtung selbst mitgewirkt. Sie wollte eine einfache Ausstattung der Yacht, gemütlich statt pompös. Es kommt natürlich immer auf dem Maßstab an. Auf jeden Fall wohnten die Royals auf ihrem Schiff weitaus aufwändiger als wir Buchfeen in Masterchens Haus.

Our Queen used her yacht for her yearly holiday trips to Western Isles, for official visits and receptions. 4 honeymoons of Royals were spend on the Britannia and the “Honeymoon Suite” was the only cabin with a double bed on the Royal Yacht.
In the Dina’s following pictures you will see how the Royals lived on their yacht – are you envy them?

Die Königin nutzte die Yacht für ihre Urlaubsreisen z.B. für die jährliche Western Isles Tour, für offizielle Staatsbesuche und Empfänge und sie diente für 4 Hochzeitsreisen der Mitglieder der königlichen Familie. Für letzteres gab es eine “Honeymoon Suite”, die einzige Kabine mit einem Doppelbett auf der Britannia. Alle vier Ehen erlitten Schiffbruch.
In der Galerie unten seht ihr, wie man königlich auf der “Britannia” lebte – neidisch?

The State drawing room, where the Queen entertained foreign dignitaries in port and gathered with her family at sea, there is a set of furniture that was a gift from the Swedish royal family in 1956. The Queen personally selected the chintz sofa and armchair covers. Off duty, the royal family gathered here to play cards and board games and Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and Princess Diana all took their turn at the piano.
The State drawing room
Das Büro der Königin. Her Majesty’s office.
Das Büro der Königin. Her Majesty’s office.
The Queen’s bedroom The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh occupied simple private cabins on the Britannia, two adjoining bedrooms on the starboard side with twin beds. The Queen preferred floral decoration while Prince Philip favoured dark timber furniture and requested pillows that did not have lace borders.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s bedroom The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh occupied simple private cabins on the Britannia, two adjoining bedrooms on the starboard side with twin beds. The Queen preferred floral decoration while Prince Philip favoured dark timber furniture and requested pillows that did not have lace borders.
The Queen’s bedroom
The Duke of Edinburgh’s bedroom
The Honeymoon Suite The bedrooms across the hall were originally occupied by Prince Charles and Princess Anne as children but when Charles and Diana spent their honeymoon onboard the Britannia, his former bedroom was transformed into a honeymoon suite, complete with the yacht’s only double bed.

Her Majesty asserted that the Britannia was the only place on which she could relax, although she worked there every day in her tasty office.
We Bookfayries nearly fainted when out audio-guide told us the amounts of luggage the Queen took along. And that was not only her favourite water for tea, no, she travelled with tons of luggage. Our dear Master would surely go bananas if we would travel with so much stuff.

Die Königin nannte die Britannia den einzigen Platz, an dem sie richtig entspannen konnte – obwohl sie an Board ein geschmackvolles Büro hatte, in dem sie ihr tägliches Arbeitspensum erfüllte.
Als die Audio-Führung erklärte, was die Königin alles mitnahm, wurde uns Feen schwindelig, selbst ihr Lieblingswasser für den Tee und was nicht alles. Stellt euch vor, wir sprechen hier von vielen Tonnen Reisegepäck. Da würde Masterchen ausflippen.

DSC_4899_kleinThe RoyalYachtThe Royal Yacht was manned with 240 crew members to operate her in style. The running costs were about 15 Mio. € yearly. Therefore Tony Blair talked our Queen out of the Britannia and made her to a museum, although she is kept seaworthy. Rarely our Queen was seen that emotional in public when she had to bid farewell to the Britannia. We are cross with Tony Blair and his government for transforming HM Yacht Britannia into a museum.
240 Mann Besatzung waren nötig, um die königliche Yacht im Stil zu operieren. Die Kosten betrugen etwa 15 Mio. € jährlich. Deswegen redete 1997 Tony Blair der Königin die Britannia als zu kostspielig aus. Sie wurde zum Museumsschiff, das jedoch weiterhin im fünfziger Jahre Charme seetüchtig gehalten wird.  Man sah Queen Elizabeth selten so emotional wie an dem Tag als die Britannia in den Ruhestand verabschiedet wurde. Wir sind richtig sauer auf Tony Blair, er hätte der Königin und GB den Spaß doch lassen können.

The powerful and the beautiful like Ursula Andress, Churchill and Clinton f.e. were received here. To be invited was a great honour.

Auf der “Britannia” wurden die Mächtigen und Schönen von Ursula Andress bis zu Churchill und Präsident Clinton empfangen. Auf sie eingeladen zu werden, galt als große Ehre.

Statedining_narwahlBottom line: a gift from the Hebrides. Sun Lounge, State Dining Room, The Duke’s office, Queen’s car (actually she abstained later from taking her Rolls Royce on the ship and so this space was used for storage of the beer for the crew – much better we think 😉 )

We loved the Narwhal tusk in the State Dining room (far right in the collage above). It was presented to our Queen by the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in Frobisher Bay, 1970.

Die Maske unten links in der Collage oben ist ein wikingisches Geschenk von den Hebriden. Der große Speisesaal war voller Geschenke. Wir fanden besonders den großen Narwalzahn faszinierend (ganz rechts) –  echtes Elfenbein, aber hallo …

Hanne Siebers_Britannia_Crew
The pictures above show the crew’s quarters. How our crazy Master got behind the bar as CO we don’t know. Probably he tried to produce good temper. This was necessary due to the limited space for the crew as the Royals took up so much room. But one wouldn’t mention it because it was a honour to serve on the Royal Yacht.

Die Bilder in der Collage oben zeigen den Unteroffiziersbereich. Wie Masterchen als erster Offizier da hinter den Tresen kam, wissen wir auch nicht. Wahrscheinlich sorgt er für gute Laune, da der Platzbedarf der Royals es für die Mannschaft eng werden ließ. Aber es war eine große Ehre auf der königlichen Yacht zu dienen.

Ship ahoy and all the best
Ahoi und liebe Grüße
Siri and Selma, the nautical Bookfayries

 

© text and illustration Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Bonn/Cley next the sea 2014

154 thoughts

  3. Bookfayries –
    The ship is magnificent!! I can fully understand why the Queen would be able to relax on her. But, your Master, Klausbernd, steals the show in uniform! Thank you for sharing your Britannia visit with us. GP

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  4. I agree with gp, Kalusbernd looks the part in his uniform!
    Thanks for a great article, and some lovely images too. I am not a royalist, so I do believe that it is best used as a museum. That way, everyone can see where all the money went!
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. x

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    • Dear Pete,
      we just returned from another journey, this time to the east, Northeast Germany and Poland, well, only a few miles into Poland for shopping 😉
      Thanks for your kind words. In his next life our dear Master wants to became a captain with a smart uniform 😉
      Lots of love to Beetley from Cley
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  5. I thoroughly enjoyed this post. I think it’s a great shame that Tony Blair decided to play politics with the Queen’s yacht thinking it would curry him favour with the electorate. I think he was very wrong on that score. Very few people begrudged the queen the yacht knowing what great work it did with diplomatic functions etc. No doubt Blair now has his own ostentatious yacht bought out of the millions he’s made out of being Prime Minister. Typical labour politician, one rule for them, another for everyone else. Not a popular man at all, certainly not in this household.
    Great work as usual! 🙂

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  6. I have never seen the inside of HMY Britannia, but I was privileged to witness her arrival at the port of Jebel Ali, Dubai in 1979, when Her Majesty officially opened the first operational part of the new port. The port was still very much under construction at the time, and Her Majesty’s visit was the highlight of the year.

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    • Wow, so you were previledged to see HMY Britannia in Action. Siri and Selma envy you.
      Thanks for your commentary.
      Greetings from the little village next the big dea
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  9. Great photos as usual Dina. I have to agree with our Pete in Beetley that it is best served as a museum; that is a lot of money to spend on a luxury item! I have stayed on the Queen Mary which is in Long Island CA another beautiful ship with art deco features. Perhaps you could take the Bookfayries there, I am sure they would love all the glitz 🙂
    Jude xx

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  10. Ihr emsige Buchfeen,
    ein ganz wunderbar fein bebilderter Artikel! Meine Frau bekam Gänsehaut bei diesem historischen Film! 🙂
    Liebe Grüße, Jürgen

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    • Guten Abend, lieber Jürgen,
      habe herzlichen Dank für deinen freundlichen Kommentar. Schön, dass dir und deiner Frau unser Britannia-Artikel gefiel – uns gefiel es ja auch auf der Britannia.
      Ganz liebe Grüße aus dem stürmischen Cley
      the Fab Four

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  12. Your posts make me think about dropping everything and just follow the sun. Maybe I wind up in one of those glamorous ships, like this one, or those beautiful places often featured on your blog. Thanks guys, your stories always help my days. All the best.

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  17. Liebe Dina, lieber Klausbernd, ich glaube ich habe diesen Rundgang durch das berühmte Britannia Museum mehr genossen als, wenn ich selbst dort gewesen wäre. Ich denke allerdings, dass es gut war den Zweck des Schiffes den heutigen Zeiten anzupassen, trotz der vielen Tränen. Ich danke euch Vieren auch dafür, dass ihr es immer wieder schaft Humor in eure Posts miteinzubringen. Cari saluti

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    • Guten Abend, liebe Martina,
      ach ja, alles hat ja auch seine witzige Seite – zum Glück!
      Schön, dass dir unsere Britannia Besuch so gut wie uns gefallen hat
      Hab ein rundum schönes Wochenende
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  21. As always, great pictures, – they tells the story themselves!
    A “posh” vessel I think!
    Kongeskipet “Norge” er nok ikke like flott innredet som “Britannia”, men det er stil over disse kongelige båtene!
    Dannebrog har jo også mye stil over seg og jeg mener å huske at alle disse tre “royale” båter har seilt sammen langs norskekysten!
    I wish you four a very posh weekend!

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    • Takk skal du ha, Hans. Det er alltid hyggelig å få en tibakemelding fra deg.
      Nå har jeg prøvd å finne et bilde eller en reportasje med alle tre skipene sammen, desverre uten hell. Jeg synes alle tre skipene er praktfulle, very special and posh indeed! 🙂
      Ha en riktig god helg!

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  22. Liebe Dina, lieber Klausbernd, na edel, edel, die Britannia, aber kein Wunder, wenn die Queen sich dort entspannte … danke für den feinen Bericht und herzliche Grüsse Ulli

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    • Liebe Ulli vom Berg,
      wir hätten uns da auch supergut entspannen können. Den bieder großartigen Flair hätten wir zu genießen gewusst.
      Herzliche Grüße dir von der stürmischen See
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  23. One of the few places the Queen could truly relax and also be fulfilling her duties at other times . I can imagine the decision to retire the Britannia will have caused many regrets in various quarters .
    Fabulous shots Dina of a peek into another world 🙂
    Klaus you look quite at home 😉

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    • Yeah, I liked it there. I could dream myself into the world of a naval officer.
      Great that you liked our look into another world.
      Have a happy weekend and thank you
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  24. naturalmente non poteva che una barca degna di tanta Regina! chissà mai se si potrà mai svelare perch uno nasce Re e un’altro homless 😦 ( lo dico senza nessuna invidia…a parte le bellezze e le sontuasità e i privilegi credo che dopotutto non sia gente da invidiare molto …sono andata fuori tema? a volte queste grandi opulenze in un mondo in crisi fanno un tantino pensare…sorry)
    le foto sono splendidissime!

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    • No, dear Ventis, you’re not off the topic. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, you’re right, of course.
      Have a great weekend!
      Big hug from the Four of us,
      Dina x

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    • Dear Patti,
      thanks a lot. Yeah, our dear Master is a great naval officer, isn’t he?
      We better don’t mention Tony Blair – by the way did you see the film “The Riot Club”? Blair’s club?
      Thanks for your comment and have a happy weekend
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  26. How haimish, LOL! Very cozy ship. Must be quite relaxing, (that is, if you’re a royal vs the “staff”). Beautiful photos as always, Dina. And Klaus, excellent officer impersonation! You had us fooled there for a second. Please tell us (ignorant Yanks are we), what does the Queen work at, exactly? Hugs to you, Fab 4 🙂

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    • Thanks a lot for your great question “what does the Queen works”?
      We thought about this question as well. We suppose besides trying out different styles of majestic waving she might work on her speeches and with so many robes on board it’s quite hard work to choose the appropiate one for the occasion. And we suppose that she communicates with her banker regularly as well. Besides all this Her Majesty reads a lot of papers but probably only those arcticles somebody highlighted for her. Well, well, the hard job of representation and being informed.
      We wish you a happy weekend
      the Fab Four of Cley

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    • The Queen is a very hard working woman, I suppose there’s no other woman performing such a job with very long hours at her age.

      Siri and Selma asked Buckingham Palace, this was the answer:

      The Queen has many different duties to perform every day. Some are public duties, such as ceremonies, receptions and visits within the United Kingdom or abroad.
      Other duties are carried out away from the cameras, but they are no less important. These include reading letters from the public, official papers and briefing notes; several audiences with political ministers or ambassadors; and meetings with her Private Secretaries to discuss daily business and her future diary plans.
      Even when she is away from London, in residence at Balmoral or Sandringham, she receives official papers nearly every day of every year and remains fully briefed on matters affecting her realms.
      In front of the camera or away from it, The Queen’s duties go on, and no two days in her life are ever the same.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Hallo Ihr “Fab Four”,
    danke für den Bericht und die Fotos. Als wir in Edinburgh waren, haben wir zwar gar nicht weit vom Hafen gewohnt, aber es trotzdem nicht zur Britannia geschafft. Dann eben beim nächsten Mal.
    Apropos Masterchen als erster Offizier: mit Verlaub gesagt, da stimmt die Kleiderordnung nicht so ganz. 😉
    Liebe Grüße, für die nächsten zwei Tage noch aus Hersel bei Bonn,
    Pit

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    • Hi, lieber Pit,
      ach, weißt du unser Masterchen kennt sich in so etwas gar nicht aus. Keinen Piep Ahnung hat der der, aber wir, Siri und Selma wissen da auch weniger als nix. Sorry wegen des Verstoßes gegen die Kleider- und Rangordnung, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
      Britannia lohnt den Besuch, wirklich!
      Ganz liebe Grüße aus Cley
      the Fab Four
      Siri und Selma

      🙂 🙂

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  32. There is something about the passing of time that democratizes what was once the purview of queens and kings. Consider the Palace of Versailles, Nymphenburg Palace – and closer to my home, Craigdarroch Castle. It is a reminder that location and circumstances are subject to change. Another spectacular photography gallery. I came back a couple of times just to see the bell! Hugs to my dearest friends – the Fab Four of Cley

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    • Dear Rebecca,
      this exclusive HMY Britannia was running most of my life and it’s now a museum, open to the public. And the public – like us – wants to have a look into the other world, unreachable for them. Strange, how we are fascinated by getting the illusion of spying out the royals 😉
      We wish you a happy weekend.
      We are back home, it’s cozy and quite a wind outside.
      With big HUGs
      to our dear friend in Vancouver
      the Fab Four of Cley xxxx

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    • Dear Rebecca,
      I have just returned from your blog after having read all your “wedding dialogues”. The comments are closed, but I want you to know that I very much appreciate your thoughts and all the lovely comments!<3
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday, with a big hug
      Dina

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    • Thank you, Dina! I always enjoy our conversations. We had a wonderful Sunday. First rain and then a crisp sunshine. It was an ideal day to walk…. Hugs and more hugs coming your way – 🙂

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  35. Ihr Lieben! Sehr schoene Aufnahmen von der Britannia. Kein Wunder, dass sie zum Museum unfunktioniert wurde bei diesen hohen Unterhaltungskosten. Vielen Dank fuer den interessanten Blog. Wuensche Euch allen ein schoenes Wochenende! Hugs! Veraiconica

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    • Guten Tag, liebe Veronica,
      die Britannia gibt ein tolles Museum ab, ein Museum, in dem es nicht steif zugeht. Statt hoher Unterhaltungskosten gibt die Britannia nun hohen Unterhaltungswert.
      Ganz liebe Grüße xx
      the Fab Four of Cley

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    • Hahaha “Statt hoher Unterhaltungskosten gibt die Britannia nun hohen Unterhaltungswert” … 👍
      Excellent comment, Klausbernd! 😀 😀
      Great post, really loved reading this glossy report! What a pity they took it away from the queen.
      Ha en god helg!
      Klem, Hjerter ❤

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  36. Das Licht an deiner Nase leuchtet, auf Queens Seite ist die Birne kaputt oder müssen die jetzt sparen?!
    Tja, so lässt es sich verreisen…..
    Schön, wenn ein Museum lebendig gestaltet ist und zu zeigen, was möglich ist, finde ich auch sehr gut, British eben….
    Audioguides sind eine prima Erfindung!
    Dass man so wichtig sein kann, in einem solch edel eingerichtetem Büro zu arbeiten!
    Wenn es Königinnen und Prinzessinnen nicht gäbe, wäre es wirklich schwierig für mich, den Kindern eine grazile Haltung und den vornehmen Gang bei zu bringen- und erst die Referance am Ende!!
    Für die Ports de Bras bevorzuge ich die Vision einer Gute Fee, die Wünsche erfüllen kann. Das müssten Siri und Selma mal überprüfen, ob wir da schon Fortschritte gemacht haben…..Feenstylemoves….
    An den letzten beiden Tagen wurde hier Afrikanisch getanzt, die Erde bebte, kann ich euch sagen.
    Schön wäre jetzt so ein mehrstündiger Powernap auf dieser geblümten Couch, sanft von den Wellen geschaukelt….
    Danke euch, großartig in Bild und Wort präsentiert. Leg mich nochmal hin und überdenke mein Interieur…..
    Herzliche Grüße und ein lautes Jamboo von Pia
    ..ich habe eine neue Schülerin , sie hat sehr dunkle Haut und heißt Blessing Queeny Elizabeth, habe noch nicht heraus gefunden,warum sie so heißt…

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    • Hi, liebe Pia,
      verreisen wie Queeny ist nicht schlecht. So lässt es sich aushalten.
      Dass deine neue Schülerin u.a. Queeny heißt, finden Siri und Selma “gaaaaaanz toll”. So möchten sie auch fortan zusätzlich genannt werden. Queeny Siri und Queeny Selma – nix da! Viel zu lang!
      Genieße das Wochenende.
      Mach’s gut
      the Fab Four of Cley

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    • Was man vielleicht noch erwähnen könnte: Das nette Gift aus Holz von den Hebriden…gefällt mir! Hat der eine Mitra auf dem Kopf?
      Jedenfalls finde ich schon, dass Siri und Selma eine würdige Anrede als Queenys verdient haben, so viel Zeit muss sein!!
      Good Night, Sweet Dreams und nochmals liebe Grüße an den Keeper der Crew und die liebe Dina

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  39. Fascinating, Dina. Great photos. I’d settle for that, even without the Rolls Royce… I thought it was mean to take it away from the Queen, but then again, it was a massive expense. I look forward to going round Britannia one day. Time I returned to Edinburgh (I have close family connections there). Did you enjoy Leith Harbour? Did you get to admire the harpoon? RH

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    • Trust you to be more than familiar with most of the places I get to see, RH! You are amazing indeed, funny how I tap around your traces. 🙂
      No, what a shame, we didn’t get around to see anything else of Leith Harbour, no time. Quite a pity, there’s some very exciting new architecture in the area, lots of changes since “Train spotting”! I have to check out the harpoon now. Are your family connected with this particular one?
      Enjoy your weekend, lost of love from the Four of us to you and MRS RH and all your princesses. Xx

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  40. Interesting to see these pictures. Granted that Britannia is a yacht and granted that the royal family have removed most of their personal possessions from it, but does anyone else agree that the furnishings lack style? The rooms look like very expensive hotel rooms with good quality classic furnishings that you can find anywhere.

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    • Dear Malcolm,
      we saw the interiours of the Britannia of unsophisticated but respectable. Honest but boring in a way. Well, that was the zeitgeist of the fifties, wasn’t it?
      Thanks and a relaxing Sunday
      the Fab Four

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  41. Klausbernd, you look so handsome indeed! What a beautiful uniform. Stunning photo’s and very interesting information about the Queen’s yacht. I was surprised at the Crew’s quarter. A pity they don’t have such nice bedrooms as well. 😆

    Thanks again for a lovely post and wishing you all a lovely Sunday. 😀 ♥ Big Hugs ♥

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    • Dear Sonel,
      our Master says “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” 🙂
      And we say “thanks” as well for commenting.
      The crews quarters are not much different from those of any ship. Grand life didn’t happen in those quarters. Upstairs-downstairs on sea.
      With a big hug from the sea
      the Fab Four of Cley xx

      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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    • You are all very welcome and I wouldn’t really know because I haven’t been on big yachts like that ever in my life. It just seemed strange to me that the crew have such small quarters in relation to the big bedrooms on the rest of the yacht, and not fair either but that’s the way it’s build, I suppose. I am glad though that I am not part of that crew. Downstairs would make me very claustrophobic. 😆

      Thanks for the hug and send one right back. 😀 ♥

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  42. When I was in Edinburgh a few years ago ,with some friends, we went to see the Britannia. Left to my own devices I might not have visited it as we had such limited time in the city. I am so glad we did as I found it enthralling. As always lovely images, I am envious of your photographic ability. 😉

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  46. Do you know I’ve never yet been on board? I find that quite hard to believe. I always meant to! Thank you so much for my guided tour. It seems quite appropriate for me to be taking it on Armistice Day, when the Queen and Philip are in action again. 🙂

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    • Dear Jo
      never been on board! We are sure you will like this experience. You may honour the next Armistice Day with your first going on board – have fun! 🙂
      All the best
      the Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  48. What a wonderful tour! The Queen really traveled in style, didn’t she? She certainly looked happy smiling on the deck.
    It’s hard to imagine a yacht so large as to have enough room for 240 crew members. I’m glad that you got to be part of the “crew” for a few moments. Can you make me a cocktail? 🙂

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    • Dear Jackie,
      here comes the cocktail, cheers!
      240 crew members is quite a bit. But on the other hand HMY Britannia is much bigger than she seems to be at the first glance.
      That was the grand old fashioned travelling 🙂 Unfortunately the times of travelling in such a style are more or less gone. We like scenes in old films of people travelling in style. The democratization of travelling destroyed the magic of the journey, didn’t it?
      Thanks and have a happy day
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  50. What a beautiful and elegant ship Britannia is. Besides I have to agree with Adrian (Chillbrook) about the strange political decision to ground the queen’s ship (not that I am much of a royalist, though). I remember long time ago I was on the Greek island Rhodes, and some British tourist turned completely crazy because Britannia had showed up in the harbour. Anyway you captured some gorgeous photos.

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    • Good afternoon, dear Otto,
      the Britannia evokes dreams of the “good old times of travelling”. Today everyone wants to travel speedy rather than stylish. But travelling in style was only possible for the chosen few.
      The HMY Britannia was Britain, Britain at sea. Quite a symbol and as a museum now a symbol of times passed by, of a quality which has vanished. Britannia doesn’t rule any longer.
      Thanks for your kind words and have a happy day
      the Fab Four of Cley

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  51. Quite the review Dina et al!! I once boarded the QEII here in the US and was suitably impressed but this is quite a bit more amazing. It’s ridiculous how the 1% live IMHO – how many families could have eaten for a year on what it cost to run this floating palace?! As for luggage – imagine how much room it took to pack all those hats 😊

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    • Dear Tina,
      the classic German drama is Goethe’s “Faust” and Faust is often quoted with “two souls alas! are dewelling in my brest”. So we feel as well. On one hand we admire this travelling in grand style, on the other hand we see its political incorrectness. And as we just answered Otto we see the Britannia as a mighty symbol but not under an economic aspect. Siri immediately did ask: “Do symbols pay?” Well …
      Cruises are crazy. A crazy ecologically destructive mass event for happy shoppers.
      Thanks for commenting
      Love
      the Fab Four of Cley
      who have never ever travelled with more than two hats 😉

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    • Good afternoon, dear Tish,
      thanks for the compliment 🙂
      I would have loved to go on a long passage on the Britannia, well, as an officer or even better as a guest. It would be ideal to sail HMY Britannia back from some exotic country without any royals on board 😉
      All the best
      the Fab Four of Cley
      Kb

      Liked by 1 person

  54. Love the note about the queen abstaining from taking her Rolls Royce on the ship for the space only then to be used for the crew’s booze….lol! A really terrific post and insight into a part of history I know very little about. Hope you all have a great week. Best regards, James

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear James,
      thank you very much for your commentary 🙂
      Great, isn’t it? Quite a political decision: booze instead of Rolls Royce, nearly a revolution 😉
      Warm greetings from Cley
      the Fab Four

      Like

    • Guten Tag, lieber Ernst,
      was für ein grauer Tag heute.
      Wir bedanken uns lieb für deinen Kommentar 🙂
      England ist Tradition und speziell auf See. Konservatives Upstairs-Downstairs-Verhalten zeigt geradezu absurd darin, dass sich die Matrosen nur mit Handzeichen verständigen dürfen, um die Ruhe der Royals nicht zu stören. Die Crew musste sich verhalten, als ob es sie nicht gäbe.
      Liebe Grüße vom Meer
      the Fab Four

      Like

    • Liebe Laura,
      der Kapitän ist “retirred” und nur noch Käpt’n auf seinem kleinen Boot, die Circe. Wenn du mal nach Cley kommst und Tide und Dünung sind gnädig, lade ich dich zu einem Bootsausflug zu den Seehunden ein – mit Siri und Selma natürlich 🙂 🙂
      Liebe Grüße
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

    • ………..seufz, das bleibt wohl ein Traum.
      Aber nichtsdestotrotz dankeschön…..
      Gehts Dir gut?
      Ich bin so selten bei wordpress, will das aber wieder ein bißchen ändern. Ich war einfach blogmüde und es gibt nicht so viel interessantes zu berichten wie aus dem Hohen Norden.

      Liebe Grüsse Laura

      Like

    • Liebe Laura,
      vielen Dank, mir geht’s gut und der ganzen Meschpoke auch 🙂 Wir haben das Glück, dass wir uns aufteilen können beim Managen dieses Buchfeenblogs. Der eine beantwortet Kommentare, die andere besucht unsere Followers und neue interessante Blogs. Wäre das nicht so, wäre unser Blog ein full-time Job.
      Ganz liebe Grüße in den hohen Norden
      Klausbernd und der Rest der Gang 😉

      Like

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