Queen’s subtle hints for new boat
The Queen’s desires for Royal Yacht Britannia to be replaced were made known to government, official files show.
The monarch was said to “naturally very much welcome” a new vessel for the 21st century after it was announced the f loating royal residence would be decommissioned.
Buckingham Palace officials were worried about the representations to Whitehall being made public, according the letter from the Queen’s deputy pr ivate secretar y Si r Kenneth Scott.
The note, dated May 5, 1995, came around a year after John Major’s government announced the yacht – now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh’s Leith – would be decommissioned.
The note was found at the National Archives by Philip Murphy, of the University of London, who said it highlighted an instance of “royal lobbying in a kind of subtle way”.
The message from Scott reads: “I have deliberately taken a back seat in recent correspondence, since the question of whether there should be a replacement yacht is very much one for the Government and since the last thing I should like to see is a newspaper headline saying ‘ Queen demands new yacht’.
“At the same time, I hope it is clear to all concerned that this reticence on the part of the Palace in no way implies that Her Majesty is not deeply interested in the subject.”