Royal Transportation (land, sea, air)

[Lilyflo]

I see Harry's driving an Audi. I know he's not the first member of the RF to go for an Audi but there's really no excuse for driving a German car, particularly now with Brexit about to happen. We need to be supporting our British brands who employ thousands of British workers. It's not as if there aren't any British luxury car brands to choose from, Jaguar/Land Rover as the prime example.

I imagine this is off-topic for this thread but I hope there's somewhere it can be moved to rather than deleting as perhaps Royal Families/national products is a topic worth discussing?

Prince Charles' new electric Jaguar is made in Austria.

Prince William's Landrover Discovery model is now made in Slovakia.

It's great when the BRF promote British made products but it's not essential for everything is it?

 

[Pranter]

OMG not here too....this 'British only' thing is getting a bit over the top.


LaRae

 

[muriel]

OMG not here too....this 'British only' thing is getting a bit over the top.


LaRae

I guess its a question of perspective.

I also believe it is something that may be relevant for the people of the land whose RF the conversation pertains.

 

[Pranter]

I guess all Brits only drive Brit cars then.





LaRae

 

[muriel]

I guess all Brits only drive Brit cars then.





LaRae

What brought that on?

 

[Pranter]

One can hardly make an issue about the Royals driving non-Brit cars when they themselves don't drive Brit cars.


I mean come on...this ethnocentric stuff is going to far.


LaRae

 

[muriel]

One can hardly make an issue about the Royals driving non-Brit cars when they themselves don't drive Brit cars.


I mean come on...this ethnocentric stuff is going to far.


LaRae

Perhaps you ought to write to the Queen to tell her to get rid of the Bentley and get a Hyundai. Or perhaps ask President Trump to get a Mercedes or a Bentley instead of that truck he goes around on. [emoji1]

 

[Pranter]

Why should I do that? I'm not the one complaining everytime a royal doesn't go all out British. If you care to scroll up you can see why the whole issue was raised....


LaRae

 

[VictoriaB]

I think there’s a difference between official vehicles and those the royals drive privately.

In their official capacity I think the royals - at least those most senior royals like the Queen, the Wales and probably the Cambridge’s, should be promoting British industry (or Canadian, Australian etc when in those countries). I see nothing wrong with them driving whichever car they want to in private.

Besides, cars made by overseas companies are made in the UK by British workers and traditional UK car companies are owned by overseas corporations now aren’t they? Jaguar is owned by an Indian company. Bentley is owned by Volkswagen.

 

[tommy100]

Exactly. Everyone should be able to drive whatever car they want if they buy it with their private money and use it in their private time.
For official events the Queen uses a Bentley (the State or a 'regular' Mulsanne model), Charles uses a Jaguar or Bentley as do William and Kate and Harry often uses either a jaguar or Land Rover. All “British” brands, but none of these brands are owned by British owners.
Really it depends what you think the royals should see as important. Clearly some think a British brand is important, others would argue as Honda and Vauxhall employ more British people the Queen and her family should be driving around in Jazz and Insignia models.

 

[muriel]

I see Harry's driving an Audi. I know he's not the first member of the RF to go for an Audi but there's really no excuse for driving a German car, particularly now with Brexit about to happen. We need to be supporting our British brands who employ thousands of British workers. It's not as if there aren't any British luxury car brands to choose from, Jaguar/Land Rover as the prime example.

One can hardly make an issue about the Royals driving non-Brit cars when they themselves don't drive Brit cars.


I mean come on...this ethnocentric stuff is going to far.
LaRae

Why should I do that? I'm not the one complaining everytime a royal doesn't go all out British.
LaRae

Nor have I once complained about what cars H&M use.

My only point has been that it a matter of perspective, and if a certain poster (in this case, PetticoatLane) feels that they would like to see a member of their royal family drive around in British cars, I really do not believe it is for people from overseas to pontificate if this "is going to far".

It is entirely possible that there will be things that H&M do that will come up for criticism, and fortunately, not everybody has to subscribe to the view of some posters that only paeans to Meghan can be put here. Jobs in the auto industry is a big domestic issue, especially with JLR, just this week, announcing 5,000 job cuts.

 

[Kataryn]

It is really desilusional. Look at the Germans. Their economy booms through the rooftops. Year after year they close the books with billions of Budget Surplusses. No Presidential Yacht Germania in sight...

No, really not. We would be happy though if the ministry of defense managed to get their official planes in working order, so when our chancelloress wants to fly to a summit in Argentina, she need not leave her official plane after an emergency landing en route and use a commercial flight from the airport she was stranded on...


As for Harry and his Audi - most Audis are just normal cars made for families. I don't want to read about Meghan starting to drive a Jaguar in a tabloid... As for official appointments, they do use British Range Rovers, don't they?

 

[Osipi]

Well.... I don't see any complaints about bananas yet. Bananas aren't grown in the UK yet its an import that a lot of people in the UK like. I'm a sucker for a good banana and they don't grow here in the US either.

Its all about imports and exports which really does have a huge effect on a country's economy. Regardless of what happens in the UK politically, exports (trade) to other parts of the world remain as important as their imports. I think that a personal choice of a foreign made item whether it be a car or a article of clothing or even a banana is a nod to excellence to the manufacturer or banana plantation grower.

How many of us actually connect tea time to the UK? The very first "homegrown" tea actually is now being grown in Cornwall since 2006.

Britain now grows tea! An Atricle about tea production in England

If we all had to buy and use things that are "homegrown", there's a lot of things we'd never have the pleasure of having. Like bananas and a cup of tea.

 

[soapstar]

Let’s get back to the topic, which is royal transportation.

 

[Tarlita]

Well obviously I would never be cut out to be Queen. As a Queen of any realm I would want a Plush train carriage and I would definately demand a hot spa!!
Maybe I would be better off as a dictator.

 

[Muhler]

A sedan-chair for me. Carried by eight panting bankers.

 

[Osipi]

I did find out an interesting fact about the royal train in the book I'm reading. Its a slow moving train usually that takes back routes to an engagement rather than traveling at high speeds on a more direct route. It just leisurely chugs along but it always gets to where it needs to be on time.

Source is "Our Queen" by Robert Hardman. A very good read.

 

[wbenson]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...nnia-rule-waves-new-royal-yacht-named-prince/

Boris Johnson will announce within weeks a new national flagship named after the Duke of Edinburgh that will be seen as a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The new ship is expected to be named HMS Prince Philip and will boost British trade and drive investment into the UK economy.

======================

Yet another rumor of a new yacht. This seems more substantial than the previous stories, but we shall see.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

How does a yacht "boost trade and investment" in this era of Zoom, Teams and 7/7 plus 24/24 global trade?

Does the boarding of HMS Prince Philip in Toulon convince the French car giant PSA to invest in the UK? Does the boarding of HMS Prince Philip in Hamburg make the Germans to buy more British?

 

[AC21091968]

How does a yacht "boost trade and investment" in this era of Zoom, Teams and 7/7 plus 24/24 global trade?

Does the boarding of HMS Prince Philip in Toulon convince the French car giant PSA to invest in the UK? Does the boarding of HMS Prince Philip in Hamburg make the Germans to buy more British?

I personally think the new Royal Yacht HM Prince Philip is another way to commemorate The Duke of Edinburgh, especially when previous served in the Royal Navy after leaving Gordonstoun. I would not read too much into the Downing Street briefing on shipbuilding and Global Britain. Prince Philip's statue in London is apparently in the design stage.

From this Sky News article, which has picked up most of the content from The Telegraph, HMS Prince Philip will replace HMY Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997. HMY Britannia is now berthed at Edinburgh as a tourist attraction.

New royal yacht named after Prince Philip to be 'commissioned within weeks', costing as much as £200m
The Daily Telegraph reports that the ship would replace HMY Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997.
https://news.sky.com/story/new-roya...within-weeks-costing-as-much-as-200m-12292880

Speaking of Royal Yacht, HMS Queen Elizabeth left Portsmouth yesterday afternoon for its first operational deployment (i.e. outside of UK) in the Indo-Pacific region. From looking at the pictures, there were crowds waving off HMS Queen Elizabeth as it left its home. There was also some crowd gathering when it arrived at Glen Mallan, Scotland.

HMS Queen Elizabeth leaves Portsmouth on maiden deployment
Aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has left its home in Portsmouth ahead of its first operational deployment.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-56956070

For those who remembered the lightheartedness and silliness at mid-March, a twitter user mistaken HMS Queen Elizabeth for HM The Queen in response to a post by Police Scotland. UK Defence Journal responded to the user asking if she was "a 65,000 tonne Royal Navy aircraft carrier". I did post this in the General News for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip 2: March 2017 - April 2021 thread with greater details (post #1159)

Picture of the viral conversation: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwhdNv1WYAM5rR6?format=jpg&name=large

 

[Nico]

I'm all in favour of a new royal yacht, aka a floating embassy very much like the "Britannia" was, but you have to admit that the timing is just plain wrong.

 

[Muhler]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...nnia-rule-waves-new-royal-yacht-named-prince/

Boris Johnson will announce within weeks a new national flagship named after the Duke of Edinburgh that will be seen as a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The new ship is expected to be named HMS Prince Philip and will boost British trade and drive investment into the UK economy.

======================

Yet another rumor of a new yacht. This seems more substantial than the previous stories, but we shall see.

Let's hope so.

There are many advantages in having a mobile residence.
And Britain is, or at least used to, identify itself as a maritime nation.

And after Brexit I think it would be beneficial with a new national symbol, to add to the rest. A symbol of a new national beginning. That should appeal to quite a few.

 

[Claire]

I'm all in favour of a new royal yacht, aka a floating embassy very much like the "Britannia" was, but you have to admit that the timing is just plain wrong.

Spot on - I just don't think it will ever happen. They might approve the plans but with the spiraling cost of corona still not counted. Can they validate this expense?
Don't get me wrong - I love Britannia and they should have commissioned a new one then.

I also feel the name is wrong - And I am pretty certain Prince Philip would have felt the same. He didn't want a statue or a ship. He wasn't loved or admired in life at all by the masses, now he is dead oh he is loved and admired. People respected him - yes. I think he would have a fit if he heard about a statute. SO that people can deface and destroy in less then a week after it was put up more then likely.

 

[Denville]

Why would people "deface his statue?" OK he's not ever been all that popular, but I hardly think that poeple are going to attack a statue of his..

 

[Claire]

Why would people "deface his statue?" OK he's not ever been all that popular, but I hardly think that people are going to attack a statue of his..

I was in London during the BLM protests - they damages a lot of the old statues. On the grounds that it is an old Englishman/ women, they must have contributed or benefited from slavery or colonialism mentality. Oddly enough the man who eventually abolished slavery statue was even targeted, as was statues of fictional characters. Mind you this happens in all protest and riots and we do appear to have an increase in these these days. Protesters damaged Sir Tom's a few days after the memorial was placed up. Yep - they will target Prince Philip's. The statues of the Queen's parents were boarded up as well and protected by the police during protests.

 

[victor1319]

new Royal Yacht

Superyachttimes.com had this week an interesting article about the past and the possible future of the Royal Yacht Britannia:

https://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/history-of-royal-yacht-britannia

Worth reading!

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I have no problems with a Royal Yacht. But do not disguise it as "it will give a boost to investments and trade". Come on. It is a luxury yacht for the monarch, it is what it is.

 

[Nico]

I have no problems with a Royal Yacht. But do not disguise it as "it will give a boost to investments and trade". Come on. It is a luxury yacht for the monarch, it is what it is.

I don't agree."Britannia" had very much a key role in the British trade back in the 80's and 90's. In fact most of her time was spent in economical missions around the Globe, during State visits or not. The "leisure" part was only for the annual cruise in Scotland.

But of course for the general public, only the "Sovereign's pleasure" will be retained and it will be , for sure, a bitter pill to swallow.

The BRF being on a slippery slope since the Sussexes and Andrew debacles, and the current challenging situation we are all still in, i can't imagine a worse thing to announce than a new royal yacht.

This is a political suicide.

 

[Muhler]

I don't agree."Britannia" had very much a key role in the British trade back in the 80's and 90's. In fact most of her time was spent in economical missions around the Globe, during State visits or not. The "leisure" part was only for the annual cruise in Scotland.

But of course for the general public, only the "Sovereign's pleasure" will be retained and it will be , for sure, a bitter pill to swallow.

The BRF being on a slippery slope since the Sussexes and Andrew debacles, and the current challenging situation we are all still in, i can't imagine a worse thing to announce than a new royal yacht.

This is a political suicide.

I don't agree.

Look at it from a nationalist point of view.
This is our ship!
A British ship!
Build by Britons in a British shipyard!
Sailing around representing Britain with the finest of what Britain can do.
Yeah!! Rule Britannia...

There is another floating British symbol, the air craft carrier Queen Elizabeth, but she is mainly at sea somewhere, or behind fences in a navy base.
This ship will be seen all over the world, connected with members of the BRF and get a lot of focus.

It depends on how you sell it.
And if it means work for several thousand builders, designers, craftsmen, suppliers.

Keep in mind that the Eiffel Tower was supposed to have been dismantled, but who would dream about suggesting that now?

 

[SLV]

Didn't the Brittania function as a safe get-away for the RF in case of an attack during the Cold War?