BRITANNIA STILL RULES

USPA NEWS - As her namesake, the new P& O cruise liner “˜Britannia´ is officially named today by Her Majesty The Queen, in Southampton, the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh celebrates 17 successful years as a five star visitor attraction and exclusive evening events venue.

In that time, The Royal Yacht Britannia, The Queen´s former floating palace has welcomed over 4 million visitors, been rated as Scotland´s Best Attraction for the last 9 years by Scotland´s national tourist board, VisitScotland and holds the accolade of the UK´s No.1 Attraction (TripAdvisor 2014-15).

Britannia welcomes 300,000 visitors a year from across the world. With 27 languages, the audio tour is believed to be the most translated in the world. All 5 decks are fully accessible and Britannia is Scotland´s flagship attraction for accessible tourism.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was built in John Brown´s Yard in Clydebank in April 1953, shortly before The Queen´s Coronation and sailed a million miles around the world, for over 40 years, as an ambassador for Great Britain, a floating royal residence and home to the royal family, until her decommissioning in 1997. The new P&O cruise liner Britannia is almost 25 times the size of the original Royal Yacht, and is paying tribute to her famous namesake by featuring details in the lavish décor of the new ship.

The new liner will also visit the Firth of Forth in July when she will berth in Edinburgh and passengers will have the opportunity to go ashore to visit the original Britannia.

Britannia´s simple and elegant furnishings were chosen personally by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, over more ostentatious designs during a post war period of austerity. The Yacht was designed to be a floating Royal residence, and importantly a relaxing home for the Royal family, described by The Queen Britannia as “˜one of the few places I can truly relax´.