Nauticalia

The stunning new Royal Yacht, Britannia, was lanuched in 1953 from the John Brown Shipyard, on the banks of the Clyde, by HM Queen Elizabeth II. During the next 44 years, the ship conveyed the Queen and other members of the Royal Family (including Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their honeymoon) on 696 visits overseas and 272 in UK waters. The ship's working life came to an end in 1997, when the newly-elected government announced that she was to be taken out of service and would not be replaced. Britannia is now permanently moored as an exhibition ship in Edinburgh.