I visited the Royal Yacht Britannia, the royal family's luxurious private cruise ship known as a 'floating palace.' Take a look inside.

9 surprising facts about the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

Photos show what it's like onboard the Royal Britannia Yacht, the Queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Newly released FBI files reveal a foiled plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II in 1983 during a US visit.</li><li>The files say a man planned to drop an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the royal yacht.</li></ul><p>The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released previously classified documents that show it helped to foil a potential assassination attempt targeting Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the US in the 1980s.</p><p>A 102-page cache of files, which were made available on <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/queen-elizabeth-ii-part-01/queen-elizabeth-ii-part-01/view">the FBI's "The Vault,"</a> reveals how a police officer alerted federal agents about statements made by a man he had encountered at an Irish pub in San Francisco, California, on February 4, 1983.</p><p>According to the files, the officer told agents that a man had communicated that he was seeking revenge for his daughter, who had been killed in Northern Ireland "by a rubber bullet."</p><p>The pub in question was known for being frequented by sympathizers of the Irish Republican Party, the documents said.</p><p>Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, whose uncle Lord Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bombing four years earlier, were due to visit California a month later.</p><p>The documents say that the man was going to "attempt to harm" Queen Elizabeth II by dropping an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia as it sailed underneath. </p><p>Failing that, he planned to kill the British monarch during her visit to Yosemite National Park, the documents said.</p><p>In response to the threat, the US Secret Service responded by making plans to "close the walkways" on the Golden Gate Bridge when the Queen's boat neared, per the files.</p><div type="image" title=": Queen Elizabeth ll looks at the views at Inspiration Point in the Yosemite National Park during a Tour of the USA on March 05 1983 in Yosemite, California." height="1716" width="2292" msid="100529807" hostid="261"></div><p>It's unclear if any arrests were made in relation to the assassination threat. Insider contacted the FBI for comment but did not immediately receive a response.</p><p>Despite the heightened risks outlined in the documents, Queen Elizabeth II's 1983 visit to the United States proceeded without incident. But the files outline the risk she faced during subsequent visits to the country.</p><p>An internal FBI memo included in the cache said "the possibility of threats against the British Monarchy is ever-present from the Irish Republican Army (IRA)" ahead of the late Queen's 1989 visit to Kentucky.</p><p>The files became public after US media outlets made Freedom of Information Act requests, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65717058">per BBC News.</a></p>

FBI reveals it foiled a 1980s plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II that involved dropping an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto her royal yacht

<ul class="summary-list"><li>From 1953 to 1997, the <keyword id="72980" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="royal-family">Royal Family</keyword> sailed around the world on the Royal <keyword id="46655" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="yacht">Yacht</keyword> Britannia.</li><li>To the dismay of the Queen, Parliament decommissioned the yacht in 1997, citing upkeep costs.</li><li>Boris Johnson's suggestion that a new yacht be built to honor Prince Philip has stoked the debate.</li></ul><p>For 44 years, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-royal-yacht-britannia-queen-elizabeth-floating-palace-travel-2021-4">Royal Yacht Britannia</a> took the Royal Family on tours and vacations around the world.</p><p>Built in 1954, the five-story yacht became known as <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-royal-yacht-britannia-queen-elizabeth-floating-palace-travel-2021-4">the Queen's "floating palace"</a> and had a full-time staff of more than 240 yachtsmen and officers.</p><p>The Queen is known to have said that it is the one place where she could "truly relax."</p><p>Despite the Queen's fondness for the ship, the Labour government decided to decommission it in 1997, citing cost as its primary reason. At the time, the Britannia cost about £11 million to run each year, Reuters <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/john-lloyd/2012/01/25/a-yacht-not-fit-for-a-queen/">reported</a>.</p><p>At the decommissioning ceremony, the Queen shed a rare public tear.</p><p>As it turns out, she may have secretly lobbied for a replacement two years earlier, The Times <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-want-a-new-yacht-queen-told-whitehall-in-secret-letter-pztt0frlh">reported</a>.</p><p>On May 5, 1995, the Queen's deputy private secretary wrote a letter to the Cabinet Office - now available in the National Archives - saying that she would "very much welcome" a new yacht, but that he did not wish to make her wishes public for fear of newspaper headlines along the lines of "Queen demands a new yacht." </p><p>Years later, Prince Philip expressed remorse at the government's decision to take the Royal Yacht Britannia off the seas.</p><p>"She should have had her steam turbines taken out and diesel engines put in," he said in an interview to mark his 90th birthday, <a href="https://www.scotsman.com/news/duke-britannia-could-have-sailed-another-50-years-1677325?amp">per the Scotsman</a>. "She was as sound as a bell, and she could have gone on for another 50 years." </p><p>Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants <keyword id="11101" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Britain">Britain</keyword> to build a new yacht named after Prince Philip to help to "sell Britain to the world," The Times <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ship-named-after-prince-philip-to-sell-britain-abroad-3009m7xhd">reported</a>.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence is drawing up plans, and the estimated cost to build the ship is £200 million, or $278 million, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ship-named-after-prince-philip-to-sell-britain-abroad-3009m7xhd">according</a> to the Times.</p><p>But, <a href="https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1386652150793703427">according to Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates</a>, Johnson does not appear to have run the plan by Buckingham Palace, and despite the Queen's past interest in building a new yacht, this time around she may not be too pleased.</p><p>"I'm told the PM hasn't asked the Queen if she'd like a new yacht - she is well aware of the optics - nor has he asked about using Prince Philip's name. Palace apparently very displeased with this suggestion in the papers," Coates <a href="https://twitter.com/samcoatessky/status/1386652150793703427?s=21">tweeted</a> yesterday.</p><p>Representatives for Buckingham Palace and the House of Commons did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.</p>

Boris Johnson wants to build a new, $278 million royal yacht named after Prince Philip, stoking an ongoing debate about cost and optics

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Before Queen Elizabeth II married <keyword id="63528" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prince-Philip">Prince Philip</keyword>, the late duke designed her <keyword id="439671" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Engagement-ring">engagement ring</keyword>.</li><li>He used <keyword id="6368047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diamonds">diamonds</keyword> from a tiara previously owned by his mother to create the 3-carat ring.</li><li>Prince Philip then used the leftover stones to make her a diamond bracelet as a wedding gift.</li></ul><p>There are often <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-are-the-crown-jewels-2017-4">stories behind the jewels</a> owned by the British <keyword id="72980" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="royal-family">royal family</keyword>. Take <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/queen-elizabeth-ii">Queen Elizabeth II's</a> engagement ring, for example.</p><p>Prince Philip - <a href="https://www.insider.com/prince-philip-dead-2021-3">who died at the age of 99 on Friday</a> - proposed to the Queen in 1947 with <a href="https://www.insider.com/royal-engagement-rings-2017-8#the-diamonds-in-queen-elizabeth-iis-3-carat-engagement-ring-came-from-a-tiara-that-belonged-to-prince-phillips-mother-princess-andrew-of-greece-3">the 3-carat design</a>. It features one circular diamond in its center and 10 smaller stones on its sides.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/royal-engagement-rings-2017-8#the-diamonds-in-queen-elizabeth-iis-3-carat-engagement-ring-came-from-a-tiara-that-belonged-to-prince-phillips-mother-princess-andrew-of-greece-3">As Insider's Talia Lakritz previously reported</a>, those diamonds are especially significant because they were pulled from a tiara owned by Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg.</p><div type="image" title="queen elizabeth II engagement ring" height="913" width="1217" msid="82089291" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/jewelry-and-watches/a12090076/queen-elizabeth-wedding-engagement-ring/">According to Town &amp; Country</a>, the princess gave her son the tiara in 1946 knowing that he would soon propose. Prince Philip then helped to design the Queen's engagement ring alongside London jeweler Philip Antrobus Ltd., according to the publication.</p><p>Of course, the ring didn't require every diamond featured on the tiara. So with the excess, the Duke of Edinburgh then designed a one-of-a-kind bracelet for his soon-to-be-wife.</p><p>He gave her the bracelet as a wedding gift, and she went on to wear it for numerous events and portraits.</p><div type="image" title="queen elizabeth II" height="2000" width="1628" msid="82089292" hostid="261"></div><p>The royal family reflected on the latter accessory in a tweet on Wednesday.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-The Royal Family  (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1382317778363940866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote><p>"HRH designed a bracelet as his wedding present to The Queen with stones from his mother's tiara and was also responsible for overseeing the construction and design of the Royal Yacht Britannia," the family wrote.</p><p>In more recent years, the accessory has seemingly <a href="https://www.insider.com/prince-philip-wedding-bracelet-for-the-queen-2021-4">been worn by Kate Middleton</a>. </p>

Prince Philip designed Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring with diamonds from his mother's tiara

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="72980" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="royal-family">royal family</keyword> said in a tweet on Wednesday that <keyword id="63528" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prince-Philip">Prince Philip</keyword> "had an interest in design."</li><li>He once used jewels from his mother's tiara to create a bracelet for his wife as a wedding present.</li><li>Kate Middleton has seemingly worn the <keyword id="31199" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jewelry">jewelry</keyword> in more recent years.</li></ul><p>Diamond jewelry and sparkling tiaras are a major facet of <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/queen-elizabeth-ii">Queen Elizabeth II's</a> wardrobe. And as it turns out, one of her pieces was designed by <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/prince-philip">Prince Philip</a>.</p><p>On Wednesday, the royal family said in <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1382317778363940866">a tweet</a> that the Duke of Edinburgh "always had an interest in design." He not only oversaw the design and construction of the Royal Yacht Britannia, <a href="https://www.royal.uk/design-work">according to the royal family</a>, but also created a bracelet for his the Queen as a wedding present.</p><p>The diamond cuff featured stones from a tiara owned by his mother, according to the tweet.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-The Royal Family  (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1382317778363940866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote><p>The Queen has worn the cuff to various royal events and in some portrait images.</p><div type="image" title="queen elizabeth II" height="2000" width="1628" msid="82069740" hostid="261"></div><p>In more recent years, the accessory has seemingly been passed over to Kate Middleton. She wore the bracelet on her left wrist during her first state banquet in October 2015.</p><p><a href="https://www.popsugar.com/fashion/photo-gallery/40763441/image/40763664/Diamond-Bracelets">Popsugar previously reported</a> she paired the cuff with diamond drop earrings and the Lotus Flower tiara at the time.</p><div type="image" title="kate middleton" height="1425" width="1900" msid="82069741" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/prince-philip-death">Philip died</a> at the age of 99 on Friday. In a statement obtained by Insider, Buckingham Palace said he "passed away peacefully" at Windsor Castle.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/prince-philip-dead-2021-3">Insider's Mikhaila Friel reported</a> at the time he was hospitalized earlier this year at King Edward VII's Hospital in London for four weeks.</p>

Prince Philip once designed a bracelet with stones from his mother's tiara as his wedding present to the Queen

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/571748f7dd0895a9418b489c-1200/gettyimages-146294138.jpg" alt="Queen and Kate Middleton" data-mce-source="Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>A Conservative MP has called for the national anthem to be played "at the end of each day's programming" on BBC1, in a motion submitted for debate in parliament.</p><p>Andrew Rosindell, the MP for Romford, <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/early-day-motions/edm-detail1/?edmnumber=641&amp;session=2016-17">tabled the so-called early day motion saying</a> "<span>this proud British tradition should be reinstated before the end of 2016, in honour of Her Majesty's 90th birthday."</span></p><p><span>"The British Broadcasting Corporation should be unashamedly British and playing our British National Anthem once a day on BBC1 is not much to ask," </span>Rosindell, who is also chairman of the <span>All Party Parliamentary Flags and Heraldry Committee, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/03/tory-mp-calls-for-bbc-1-to-mark-brexit-with-national-anthem-at-t/?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">told the Telegraph in an interview.</a></span></p><p>The BBC abandoned the practice of playing God Save the Queen daily in 1997. A total of four MPs, including Rosindell himself, have signed the motion.</p><p>British <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> has seen a surge of nationalist sentiment since the Brexit vote to leave the European Union in June. </p><p><span><span>Peter Whittle, a </span>UKIP leadership candidate and London assembly member</span><span> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ukip-leadership-hustings-london-paul-nuttle-nigel-farage-2016-11">said all UK schools should display a Union Jack and a picture of the Queen on Monday.</a> Last month, Conservative MP Jake Berry called for the return of the Royal Yacht Britannia to help the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> strike trade deals.</span></p><p><span>While early day motions are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons, "very few are actually debated," <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/edm">according to the parliament's own website.</a> "EDMs allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause. MPs register their support by signing individual motions," according to the website.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-comments-donald-trump-behaves-extravagantly-2016-10">PUTIN: Trump represents Americans who are 'tired of the elite who have been in power for decades'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ZnbWoyNzE6OHMoZjKFZjjEH9pE9wBPUr" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'ZnbWoyNzE6OHMoZjKFZjjEH9pE9wBPUr',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

CONSERVATIVE MP: The BBC should play the national anthem every day

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/578cfef0dd08957d7e8b46f9-923/rtr2s8q6.jpg" alt="Liam Fox" data-mce-source="Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters" /><p class="source"><span>Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Liam Fox, the Brexiteer and <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> international trade secretary, gave a speech on Wednesday which offered an impassioned defence of free trade.</span></p><p>He said that, although the principles of free trade have remained the same for centuries, "the trading environment has changed beyond recognition."</p><p>Technological advances are "dissolving away the barriers of time and distance," he said, and we are entering a "post-geography trading world" where "we are much less restricted in having to find partners who are physically close to us."</p><p>Fox's theme was clear: distance no longer matters.</p><p>But that argument contradicts one of the most <a href="http://publications.ut-capitole.fr/15395/1/distance.pdf">robust findings of economic theory</a>. Distance does matter - a lot.</p><p>Angus Armstrong, director of macroeconomics at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, explained that distance is one half of the so-called "gravity equations" that underpin trade theory.</p><p><span>"The people who we trade most with tend to be the closest countries, and the biggest countries," he said at a briefing on the economics of Brexit.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57ee31f9dd089597338b4bf0-1785/rtr87hq.jpg" alt="DATE IMPORTED:October 31, 1997The Royal Yacht Britannia sails up the river Clyde escorted by naval helicopters on its way to Glasgow for a three day visit, October 31. Britannia has returned to the Clyde where it was launched in 1953 at John Brown's shipyard in Clydebank. The visit is part of a farewell, eight-stop, round Britain tour before the yacht is decommissioned in December." data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="DATE IMPORTED:October 31, 1997The Royal Yacht Britannia sails up the river Clyde escorted by naval helicopters on its way to Glasgow for a three day visit, October 31. Britannia has returned to the Clyde where it was launched in 1953 at John Brown's shipyard in Clydebank. The visit is part of a farewell, eight-stop, round Britain tour before the yacht is decommissioned in December." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">The Royal Yacht Britannia, which Boris Johnson wants to recommission and use to drum up trade</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The theory that size and distance matter "is the most enduring finding in international trade literature."</span></p><p>The theory is straightforward <a href="http://publications.ut-capitole.fr/15395/1/distance.pdf">Trade is inversely proportional to distance, with a coeffficient of approximately -1</a> In other words, Armstrong said, "i<span>f you double the distance between the two countries, you'll basically half the trade."</span></p><p><span>Here is a graph charting the relationship between distance and amount of trade. The data used is France's imports in 2006:</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57ee31f9dd089597338b4bf1-414/screen shot 2016-09-30 at 09.31.45.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016 09 30 at 09.31.45" data-mce-source="James E. Anderson / Boston College and NBER" /><p class="source"><span>James E. Anderson / Boston College and NBER</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The coefficient is -0.894 - in other words, there is a very strong correlation between distance and trade. The same is true of France's exports:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57ee31f9dd089597338b4bf2-387/screen shot 2016-09-30 at 09.30.45.png" alt="Screen Shot 2016 09 30 at 09.30.45" data-mce-source="James E. Anderson / Boston College and NBER" /><p class="source"><span>James E. Anderson / Boston College and NBER</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The coefficient there is -0.683, which still represents a strong correlation between distance and trade.</p><p>Fox's dream of a "post-geography trading world" does not appear to be backed up by basic economic theory. There is a broad consensus that gravity theory is <a href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/~econ0360/FerdinandRauch/Bees.pdf">"robust,"</a> and the role of size and distance is <a href="https://www.uclouvain.be/cps/ucl/doc/core/documents/ET_chaney.pdf">"well understood."</a></p><p>This is significant because the prospect of free trade agreements with far-away economies like Australia appeals hugely to Brexiteers.</p><p>Among those who voted to leave the European Union, <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/09/17/which-countries-should-uk-prioritise-post-brexit-t/">47% said a trade deal with Australia was a top priority</a> - making it more of a priority than the USA.</p><p>"Unfortunately, distance isn't one of the things you can move," Armstrong said.</p><p>"So when people say, well we'll trade a little bit less with the EU, but we'll trade with Australia - that's not smart. Australia's a long way away, and Europe's very close. It's also much bigger."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/former-wells-fargo-employees-fired-reporting-fraudulent-activity-2016-9">Former Wells Fargo employees say they were fired after reporting fraudulent activity</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="AyMHYxNjE6zGA5OnirMAgI1EBDWDFJUD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'AyMHYxNjE6zGA5OnirMAgI1EBDWDFJUD',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Royal Yacht Britannia" and got 9 results

I visited the Royal Yacht Britannia, the royal family's luxurious private cruise ship known as a 'floating palace.' Take a look inside.

Talia Lakritz

9 surprising facts about the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

Melissa Wiley

Photos show what it's like onboard the Royal Britannia Yacht, the Queen's 'floating palace' that she took on lavish vacations

Melissa Wiley

FBI reveals it foiled a 1980s plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II that involved dropping an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto her royal yacht

Joshua Zitser

Boris Johnson wants to build a new, $278 million royal yacht named after Prince Philip, stoking an ongoing debate about cost and optics

Melissa Wiley

Prince Philip designed Queen Elizabeth's engagement ring with diamonds from his mother's tiara

Amanda Krause

Prince Philip once designed a bracelet with stones from his mother's tiara as his wedding present to the Queen

Amanda Krause

CONSERVATIVE MP: The BBC should play the national anthem every day

Ben Moshinsky

These charts show why Brexit free trade deals will be so difficult

Thomas Colson