The Royal Yacht Britannia was part of Queen Elizabeth’s life for 44 years, taking the Royal Family on hundreds of trips around the globe. The vessel played host to royal vacations, honeymoons and official foreign visits until it was decommissioned in 1997, and photos from the ceremony show the late Queen wiping a tear from her eye. But Prince Philip told royal author Gyles Brandreth that Queen Elizabeth never actually cried at the event—or in general.
Brandreth, who once worked alongside the late Prince Philip, has been close with the Royal Family for decades. In the biographer’s recent book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, he shared the conversation he had with Philip about the late Queen’s alleged tearful moment.
