A Royal Christmas aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia

For the first time ever, forming the centrepiece of Britannia’s stunning Christmas decorations this year is a 7 foot Christmas tree, kindly gifted to the Royal Yacht by Her Majesty The Queen’s private estate, Balmoral, Scottish holiday home to the Royal Family.

A magical time was had on board by all, when social media sensation, Marcel Le Corgi, was joined by three-year-olds (L-R) Annabelle Kennedy, Cara Culshaw ­and Hamish Aitken in Britannia’s State Drawing Room, where the traditional tree was given the seal of approval.

Throughout Britannia’s five decks, the ship is adorned with beautiful decorations, from the Grand Staircase in the State Apartments to the Crew’s Quarters below decks. Complementing The Queen’s Balmoral Estate tree is a 30 foot Christmas tree on the quayside at Britannia and another on the Bridge of the ship, a longstanding naval tradition.

Specially selected by The Queen’s Forestry Foreman, Joe MacLuggash, who has worked for over 25 years on the Royal Estate, the tree was gifted to Britannia for visitors to admire.

In the New Year, The Royal Yacht Britannia will be celebrating 20 years since arriving in Edinburgh. Opening its doors in October 1998, Chief Executive, Bob Downie, and his team have been wholly committed to providing an exceptional customer experience for visitors. Delivering great value for time and money has helped Britannia achieve the status of Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction for 12 years in a row by national tourist board VisitScotland and achieve record visitor numbers for the last 5 years, with 348,272 visitors last year.  

Click here to see more beautiful images from our Christmas photo shoot on board Britannia.

Photographs by Helenpughphotography.com

Enjoy our corgi-laden Christmas video.

ENDS

www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk

Follow us on Facebook: The Royal Yacht BRITANNIA or Twitter: @Britanniayacht

Notes to Editors:

1. Marcel Le Corgi – the little hound who has large adventures! With 70,000 followers on Instagram, London-based Marcel is a long-fur, or ‘fluffy’ Pembroke Welsh corgi who loves life. Owned by Aurelie Four, who is the co-founder of the UK Corgi Club, four-year-old Marcel enjoys to explore the UK. For more details please visit: www.lecorgi.com

2. VisitScotland awarded The Royal Yacht Britannia a grading of 95% to become Scotland’s Best Attraction for the twelfth year in a row.

3. An unforgettable attraction for visitors, as well as a prestigious evening events venue, Britannia is regarded as one of Edinburgh’s ‘must-see’ destinations. Britannia is now berthed in Edinburgh, where visitors can follow in the footsteps of Royalty to discover the heart and soul of this most special of Royal residences. Highlights include the teak-paneled Sun Lounge and elegant State Dining Room, which contrast dramatically with the working side of the ship and the crew’s quarters.

4. Recent developments have included the audio guide being available in British Sign Language, Braille and 30 languages, making it one of the most translated tours in the world.

5. Britannia is owned by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (Registered Charity No. SC028070). The Trust’s responsibility is to maintain and preserve Britannia in keeping with her former role and to display her to the public as a key part of British maritime history. The Trust is a wholly self-funding, not-for-profit, charitable organization. Income generated from running the Royal Yacht as a visitor attraction and events venue goes towards preserving the yacht for future generations. Britannia is the official headquarters of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen.