Royal Yacht

A Royal Yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is Imperial Yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The Royal Yacht is most often manned by personnel from the navy and used by the monarch and his/her family on both private and official travels.

Types of Boats used

Some royal yachts have been/are small vessels only used for short trips on rivers or in calm waters, but others have been/are large seaworthy ships.

History

Depending on how the term is defined royal yachts date back to the days of antiquity with royal barges on the Nile in ancient Egypt.

Later the Vikings produced royal vessels. They followed the pattern of longships although highly decorated and fitted with purple sails (purple sails remained standard for royal vessels the next 400 years).cite book |last=Madge |first=Tim |title=Royal Yachts of the world |year=1997 |publisher=Thomas Reed Publications |isbn=0 901281 74 3 |pages=p21 |chapter=2 ]

In England Henry V sold off the Royal Yachts to clear the Crown's debts. The next royal vessels in England were built in the Tudor period with Henry VIII using a vessel in 1520 that was depicted as having cloth of gold sails.cite book |last=Madge |first=Tim |title=Royal Yachts of the world |year=1997 |publisher=Thomas Reed Publications |isbn=0 901281 74 3 |pages=p25 |chapter=2 ] James I had the "disdain" a ship in miniature (she was later recorded as being able to carry about 30 tons) built for his son Prince Henry. The "disdain" was significant in that she allowed for pleasure cruising and as a result can be seen as an early move away from Royal ships as warships.

The first ships to unquestionably qualify as Royal Yachts were those owned by Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. The first was a gift from the Dutch but latter yachts were commissioned and built in England. This established a tradition of royal yachts in Britain that was latter copied by other royal families of Europe. Through the 19th century royal yachts got larger as they became a symbol of national wealth. World War I brought this trend to an end and the royal families that survived found it harder to justify the cost with the result that there are only two Royal Yachts left in use in Europe. For the most part royal yachts have been superseded by the use of warships in this role, as royal yachts are often seen as a hard-to-justify expenditure. In addition most monarchies with a railway system employ a special set of royal carriages. Most monarchies also employ aircraft as a luxurious (and much more speedy and timely) mode of transportation.

Yachts by country

Denmark

The Danish royal family have had several royal yachts. Two of them have been named Dannebrog.
* HDMY Elephanten (1687–21)
* HDMY Sophia Amalia (1650–?)
* HDMY Kiel (1824–40)
* HDMY Ægir (1841–55)
* HDMY Slesvig (1855–79)
* HDMS Jylland A frigate which served as a Royal Yacht on occasion 1874–85
* HDMY Dannebrog (1879–32)
* HDMY Dannebrog (1932–present)

Egypt

*" Mahroussa" aka. "El Horria" 1866–1951. Built for Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt. She passed the Suez Canal during its opening. Lengthened twice, converted from paddle steamer to screws. Now serves as a school ship for the Egyptian Navy.

Germany

During the German Empire The Kaiser used these Yachts:
*SMY Hohenzollern 1878–1912, renamed SMY Kaiseradler in 1892
*SMY Hohenzollern II 1893–1914
*SMY Hohenzollern III built in 1914 but never finished

Netherlands

*De Groene Draeck (1957–present)

Norway

King Haakon VII received the Royal Yacht Norge as a gift from the people of Norway in 1947. The Royal Yacht is owned by the King but maintained and manned by the Royal Norwegian Navy. Before this other Navy ships had served as royal sea transport and the King used some smaller boats for short trips mostly on official occasions.
* Sophia Amalia (1650–?)
* Elephanten (1687–21)
* Heimdal (1892–1946)
* Stjernen I (1899–1940)
* Stjernen II
* Norge (1947–present)
* Horten

Oman

* Zinat al bihaar built in Oman under a design of British naval architect Colin Mudie, she resembles a dhow.
* Al Noores (36 m): Tug yacht, Dutch built
* Loaloat al Behar (103 m) was built in Picchiotti Shipyard in Italy.
* Fulk Al Salamah (136 m) was commissioned in 1982. It was built on Lurssen ship yard (ex Bremer Vulkan shipyard) in Germany
* Al Said Yacht (155 m) was built in Lurssen Yard in Bremen, Germany. It arrived at Oman in 2007. It costs about $500+ million.
*M/Y Sultan (Still a concept yacht)

Portugal

* Veloz (22,6 m): 1858
* Sirius (22,5 m): 1876
* Amélia I (35 m): 1888;
* Amélia II (45 m): 1897;
* Amélia III (55 m): 1898;
* Amélia IV (70 m): 1901.The Portuguese King Charles I used four successive royal yachts, all named "Amélia", after his wife, Queen Amélie of Orleans. These yachts were, mainly, used by Charles I his oceanographic missions. It was in the "Amélia IV" that King Manuel II and the Portuguese Royal Familly leaved the country for the exile, after the republican revolution of 5 October 1910. In the republican regime the "Amélia IV" was renamed "NRP 5 de Outubro" and operated by the Portuguese Navy.

Russia

Yachts employed by the Tzar of Russia:

* Alexandria (I) (1851-1906)
* Standart (I) (1857-1892)
* Derzhava (1871-1905)
* Tsarevna (1874-1917)
* Livadia (1880-1917/1926) was never used as an imperial yacht due to a flawed design.
* Polyarnaya Zvezda (1890-1917/1961)
* Alexandria (II) (1904-1917/1927)
* Standart (II) (1895-1917/1963) [ [http://www.yachtstandart.com A private web page dedicated to the Standart] ]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Royal Yachts have included the following:
* Prince Abdul Aziz (1984–) Now owned by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
* Al Riyadh (1978–)
* El Horriya (1865–)
* Al Salamah (1999–)
* Issham al Baher (1973–)

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has had 83 royal yachts since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. Charles II himself had 25 Royal Yachts, while five were simultaneously in service in 1831. Since the decommissioning of "Britannia" in 1997 the Queen does not have a royal yacht.

Other Nations

Other nations that employ some form of yacht presently or in the past include China, Iran, Russia, and Sweden.

The United States in the past employed presidential yachts which functioned identically, serving the US President. Most notably was the USS "Potomac" (1936–1945) and the USS "Williamsburg" (1945–53). The most recent presidential yacht was the USS "Sequoia" (1933–77). Earlier vessels included the USS "Mayflower" (1906–29), damaged by fire during the Great Depression.

Turkey also bought the "Savarona" as a presidential yacht for Kemal Atatürk in 1938, but it was later used as a school ship for the Turkish Navy.

UAE the Government of Dubai employs the super yacht "Dubai- ex Platinum and Golden star"

See also

* Royal Train
* Air transports of heads of state
* Official state car

Sources

* Article in Vi Menn magazine number 31 2006