The Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh prepares for the Coronation of their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla by flying the official Coronation flag to mark the historic occasion.
The red flag, which is over 3.5 meters wide, will fly from Britannia’s main mast for all to see.
To further ‘dress’ the ship, Britannia’s Maintenance Team Manager Tony Smith, and his trusted team, hoist Britannia’s maritime signal flags into place, stretching the full length of the ship from bow to stern. The bright maritime flags are used to ‘dress’ the ship in times of celebration.
On April 16 1953, The Royal Yacht Britannia was launched from John Brown’s Shipyard in Clydebank, Glasgow, to start over 44 years of faithful service to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Royal Family.
70 years on, Britannia is berthed in Leith, Edinburgh, and welcomes more than 300,000 visitors per year who step aboard to explore this iconic ship and the illustrious role she proudly played in British history.
King Charles III, then known as Prince of Wales, first stepped aboard Britannia when he was 6 years old in 1954. The Prince of Wales and his sister, Princess Royal, made the maiden voyage on board the brand-new Royal Yacht to Malta to meet their parents, HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, who were in Tobruk on Royal duties. During the next four decades Britannia became one of the most famous ships in the world as it visited over 600 ports in 135 countries, travelling over one million nautical miles.
All photos Tony Marsh
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.