Royal Yacht Britannia.

[Fouro]

I noticed the Royal Yacht which is now berthed permanently at Leith as a tourist attraction was flying the Scottish Saltire flag on the forward mast. Is the flying of this flag legal or illegal?.

FOURO.

[j.sabourn]

Should imagine is flown as a courtesy flag, after all Scotland is a country in its own right. As she is now de-commissioned should also imagine she would be flying the Red Ensign aft. But as flag etiquette is not so strictly adhered to today don't think the punitive old fine of 5 pounds for non compliance would carry much weight today, where anything seems to go. Used to be the practice that one flew the flag of the next country port of call, so could argue that while flying the Courtesy flag that was also your next port of call if wanted to split hairs, or if couldn't be bothered to argue the point just hand over your fiver and claim it on expenses. Cheers JS PS Jim Egan if you are watching these posts, know you were babysitting 5 laid up offshore vessels in Leith not so long back, and being a staunch Scotsman, maybe you even put up the Scottish flag. Give my regards to Albert and Murial when you see next week in NORTH Shields. Cheers JS

[Keith at Tregenna]

I noticed the Royal Yacht which is now berthed permanently at Leith as a tourist attraction was flying the Scottish Saltire flag on the forward mast. Is the flying of this flag legal or illegal?.

FOURO.

Must be honest been twice, never noticed.

K.

[Richard Quartermaine]

In 1963 during the Royal Visit to the then British Crown Colony of Fiji I took these photos. I was lucky to have been invited to take a look inside the Britannia when she was alongside and some of the furnishings in the Queen and Philip's quarters were the same as were on the SS Gothic. I think that there is little that saddens me more than to see past Maritime glory demeaned and hope that the Leith experience will will work out for the best.
Richard

[gray_marian]

#4, Hi Richard, I'd rather see this ship utilized than scrapped and the Royal Yacht Brittiana was/is special. Couple of sites below for your perusal. Sign on and they'll send newsletters

Scotland's Best Visitor Attraction | The Royal Yacht Britannia
Scotland's Best Visitor Attraction | The Royal Yacht Britannia

Royal Yacht Britannia (Edinburgh, Scotland): Top Tips Before You Go ...
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk › ... › Scotland › Edinburgh › Things to do in Edinburgh

[Fouro]

The Royal Yacht seen here flying the Saltire flag.

The Royal Yacht Britannia - ASVA

FOURO.

[Fouro]

Flags the Britannia is allowed and not allowed to fly.
The Royal Yacht Britannia wears a number of flags, and several have aroused queries. In particular, exception was perhaps unsurprisingly taken to her wearing a Scottish Saltire and an EU flag. The wearing of both these flags must have been illegal as both of them have subsequently been removed on MOD advice. The Britannia however, was granted a special dispensation in 1998 by the Secretary of State for Defence, by formal Warrant, to fly the Union Flag as a Jack. The Britannia also wears a defaced Blue Ensign, the special ensign of the Royal Forth Yacht Club, of which the owning organisation is a member. So it looks like the photograph of Britannia in# 6 flying the Saltire will never take place ever again.

FOURO.

[j.sabourn]

Fouro if remember correctly the Courtesy flag was flown from the starboard yard arm on the foremast. The flags I cant read due to the way they are fluttering with the wind, but are probably the ships name or the yacht club spelt out. If any 4 flag hoists are probably the old call sign of the ship. As regards the defaced blue ensign, we used to fly one when on a ship with Naval Party ranking, it was a special blue ensign being defaced by some insignia which I cant rememember but was different from the RMAS blue ensign which was also defaced. (Royal Auxilary Maritime Services). Our blue ensign was under warrant from the Admiralty and believe we were the only merchant ship to fly that particular flag. JS

[Richard Quartermaine]

Thank you Marian for the links. Yes, it is good to know that that pretty ship is being preserved and admired. I will certainly sign on.
Richard

[Rodney Mills]

In 1988 my wife and I were going diving off Agincourt reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef 30 miles off shore twixt Cairns and Port Douglas, Queensland
and as we were leaving the port of Cairns, Queensland we passed RMV Britannia. If my memory serves me correctly she had arrived in port ahead of the Royal party who were to arrive later via plane. I want to say it was for a visit by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, but I'm not sure. Note the flag she is flying?