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Britannia was the 83rd yacht
built for the British Royalty. The first
of these vessels entered service in 1660
for King Charles II. Plans to build a
replacement for the 82nd royal yacht
Victoria and Albert
III began during the reign of King
George VI. King George died in 1952; four
months before the keel of the new yacht
was laid down. His daughter Queen
Elizabeth II succeeded him to the throne
and took a great interest in the yacht.
The young queen and her husband Prince
Philip regularly consulted the builders
about the yachts design.
Britannia’s completion in
January 1954 saw her become the largest
yacht in the world.
Britannia carried members of
the royal family on 968 official visits
to 600 ports in 135 countries around the
world. During the 43 years and 334 days
of her service, she covered 1,087,623
miles. In June 1994, the British
Government announced Britannia
would be taken out of service. She was
decommissioned in December 1997 and
awarded to the city of Edinburgh/Scotland
the following year. The royal yacht has
since been moored at the port of
Leith/Edinburgh to be used as a museum
and to host corporate hospitality
events.
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