Officially retired, she is now berthed at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh, Scotland. Above is the lifesaver ring aboard the Britannia.

The Britannia was the last ship of the royal monarchy.

The ship's bell with the date of 1953, the year the Britannia was christened by Queen Elizabeth on April 16, 1953.

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Queen Eizabeth's dressing table.

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Queen Elizabeth's stateroom.

Notice that single beds are a mainstay on this floating palace except for guest rooms.

Stateroom of Prince Philip.

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Additional view of Prince Philip's stateroom. On the right is a door which allowed connected to the queen's private quarters.

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The Honeymoon Suite on a floating palace. How romantic is this? Although in today's world, one might hope for at least a queen size bed instead of the double seen here.

This guest room served several royal couples including Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones in 1960, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986.

Dressing table in the honeymoon suite.

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Crystal cabinet in the Sun Lounge.

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The Sun Lounge was one of the Queen's favorite rooms on board the ship where she often enjoyed breakfast and afternoon tea.

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Looking out of the Sun Lounge to the Verandah Deck where the family would enjoy privacy outside. When the children were aboard, they often played deck hockey or other games, and used their collapsible swimming pool.

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Since the 1660s, the British monarchy has had a personal royal yacht. HMY Britannia is the 83rd and final vessel of the royal family. With sadness, Queen Elizabeth bid a tearful farewell to her yacht in 1997. With extensive renovation needed, the cost of rehabilitation was too great and the ship was decommissioned in 1997.

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View of the ship's bow.

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The State Dining Room is the largest and grandest room on the yacht.

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The State Dining Room hosted such notable figures as Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandella, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Rajiv Gandhi. Along the walls one may see on display the various gifts given to the queen during her visits.

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The queen formally retired for the evening at 11:00 p.m., but many times worked at her desk until late into the night.

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Desk of Prince Philip.

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Reading area of Prince Philip.

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Her majesty's desk. Orders of state must be reviewed daily regardless of whether at the palace or on the yacht.

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A chair in the queen's sitting area.

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The queen's chair where she enjoyed reading privately in her stateroom.

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A glimpse into The Grand Drawing Room which is large enough to accommodate 250 guests. A grand piano also resides in this area but is not pictured.

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The Grand Staircase which leads to the staterooms of the Royal Family.

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Sick Bay. Medical crew consisted of a Naval Medical Officer, 2 medical Chief Petty Officers, and O.R. nurse and a physiotherapist. The queen's surgeon traveled also for state visits.

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The yacht was built to double as a hospital ship in times of war, but it was never needed in such a capacity. In January of 1986, the yacht did evacuate many British nationals and refugees fleeing from civil war in Aden, South Yemen.

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Example of an officer's workroom.

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A peak into the gleaming and pristine engine room which performed impeccably and without need for major repair during the entire 44 years of service. The queen, being very proud of her ship, often brought guests to see this display of craftsmanship after dinner. Many thought this was simply theatrical and not the real engine room as it was remained spotless at all times.

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The 1936 racing yacht Bloodhound owned by Prince Philip and the queen is berthed next to the Britannia.

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During her 44 years of service Her Majesty's Royal Yacht Britannia traveled over 1 million nautical miles making 968 state visits and visiting 600 ports in 135 countries.

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The Britannia, royal yacht of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, served the monarchy from 1954 - 1997.

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Afternoon Tea on deck of The Britannia

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