Royal Yacht Britannia #4

Edinburgh #14

It's said that the Queen's favourite spot was the Sun Lounge, teak lined and with large picture windows providing wide views of the deck and beyond. She often used to take breakfast or afternoon tea in here. It offered privacy from the rest of the ship, with a well-stocked bar, and the family congregated here to relax, listen to music and play board games. 

(Above it was another deck where the family used to play deck games. That's now covered by the Visitors' Tearoom.) 

Behind the sun lounge are the main bedrooms. Again, you can't go into them but they have had viewing windows inserted into the walls. The Queen and Prince Philip had separate but interconnected rooms, both ensuite. The Queen's was prettily furnished with floral fabrics, plenty of wardrobes, a large dressing table and a writing desk. The embroidered silk panel above the bed was specially commissioned. 

The Duke of Edinburgh's bedroom was rather more sombrely decorated to suit his personal taste. No lacy pillowcases here! 

Across the hallway, the rooms used to be a nursery suite when the royal children were small, but then this room became 'The Honeymoon Suite'. The only double bed on the yacht was apparently brought in when Charles and Diana had their honeymoon on Britannia. There are sixteen other bedrooms on the decks below, used by the royal family and other guests, along with a VIP suite - two ensuite bedrooms and a sitting room - used by the most senior guests, including President and Mrs Clinton in 1994. 

It was all rather fabulous and I thoroughly enjoyed my tour, followed by tea in the Visitors' Tearoom - proper leaf tea served in a silver teapot, with a tea strainer and china cup. I can quite understand why, during the decommissioning ceremony for the Yacht, the Queen was seen to shed tears. It was clearly a very special place for her, especially when the family took their annual cruise around the Scottish Islands. A place to relax, cosy and comfortable, away from the glare of publicity.  

That's the end of my Edinburgh photos. Hope you enjoyed them.