HM King Charles III aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia

On Monday, 3 July, HM King Charles III stepped aboard to attend a reception for the Association of Royal Yachtsmen to commemorate 25 years since The Royal Yacht Britannia arrived in Leith. Did you know that His Majesty was one of the first two members of the Royal Family to sail aboard Britannia?

In 1954, Britannia set sail to Malta with the then Prince Charles, aged six, and Princess Anne, to meet Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip who were in Tobruk on Royal duties. 

Many holidays were enjoyed on board as the Royal Family sailed to the Western Isles. Growing up aboard Britannia, the Princess Royal said, 'We found as children that there was so much to do, we expended so much energy that we couldn't describe our time on the Yacht as a rest'.

The Royal children would sometimes help around the yacht, for example cleaning on deck, and on warmer days an inflatable padding pool was set up on the Verandah Deck. A real treat, they also visited the onboard NAAFI shop to buy sweets!

In later years, King Charles spent time aboard Britannia for his honeymoon with Princess Diana where they sailed from Gibraltar, to Italy and Greece, ending their trip in Egypt. With their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, they travelled aboard Britannia for family holidays.

See our gallery of images from HM King Charles III's visit here