King Charles took a walk down memory lane as Holyrood Week kicked off, with a trip to the Royal Yacht Britannia..
The monarch visited the yacht at Ocean Terminal in Leith, where she is a tourist attraction. His visit marked the 25th anniversary of the yacht's arrival in Edinburgh with former staff and crew on board to greet him, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
He was six in 1954 when he and Princess Anne sailed on Britannia's first voyage to Malta, where they met their parents. They spent several summer holidays onboard Britannia before she was retired to Leith.
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The children were kept busy and would sometimes help the yacht’s 220-strong crew, 22 officers, and assorted Royal Household staff by cleaning up on deck. Princess Anne recalled: “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.”
But there was also plenty of time for fun: an inflatable paddling pool was set up on the Verandah Deck in hot weather, the children visited the yacht’s NAAFI shop to buy sweets, and there were treasure hunts and water fights to enjoy too.
Later, Charles spent part of his honeymoon with Princess Diana on Britannia sailing around the Mediterranean. Their sons Princes William and Harry both enjoyed childhood holidays on Britannia before she was decommissioned and not replaced, much to Queen Elizabeth’s dismay, in 1997.
In almost 44 years of service, Britannia took members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries on 696 foreign visits. Since 1998 more than 6.6 million tourists have visited the yacht.
Earlier on Monday, the King donned a kilt to begin his first Holyrood Week as monarch but found himself outdressed by the newly crowned Fair Queen of Bo’ness.
Wearing her ceremonial robes and crown, 11-year-old Lexi Scotland welcomed King Charles to Kinneil House, the historic home of the dukes of Hamilton, in Bo’ness, West Lothian, at the start of a week of royal engagements in Scotland.
In his Prince Charles Edward Stewart tartan kilt, the 74-year-old monarch, met crowds and toured the estate, where in 1765-73 the Scottish engineer James Watt developed a steam engine that helped transform Britain in the Industrial Revolution (note to subs: he didn’t invent the steam engine).
Later the monarch was handed the keys to Edinburgh in the traditional Ceremony of the Keys when he took up residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
He and his family will undertake a series of engagements north of the border during the next few days. The highlight will come on Wednesday when he will be accompanied by Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate at a national service of thanksgiving at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh where he will be presented with the Honours of Scotland - the nation’s crown jewels.
It will be a day of pomp and pageantry with processions and gun salutes. Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge, warned the public to plan their day in advance. “Given the scale and significance of these ceremonial events, we have to be prepared for disruption across the city but, particularly, in the Old Town,” he said.
