The yacht behind the story.

Britannia was built at John Brown & Company’s shipyard in Clydebank, launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953 and commissioned on 11 January 1954.

For more than four decades she carried the Royal Family on state visits, official tours and holidays, sailing more than a million nautical miles.

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Britannia was home to a crew of around 220 Royal Yachtsmen. Their quarters, the laundry, the NAAFI shop and the engine room sit below the royal rooms, and the tour shows both.

The State Dining Room and the State Drawing Room hosted royal entertaining, while the Sun Lounge was Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite room on board.

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Britannia was decommissioned on 11 December 1997 and opened to visitors in Leith in 1998. She is cared for by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, a charity, and in 2016 she welcomed her five millionth visitor.

This history belongs to the yacht and the people who sailed in her. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.

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• Explore the timeline→