Just six months ago a royal yacht was nothing but a fond memory for the Queen.
Now, 15 years after Britannia was decommissioned, there are no fewer than three plans to raise money for a replacement, The Times can reveal.
An appeal is launched today to raise £60 million from the public to buy a yacht for the Queen by the end of the year. That coincides with the launch of another project, to build a flagship for the Commonwealth which will also be available for use by the Queen.
The two schemes follow the revelation in January of plans to build a training and scientific research sailing ship which could also be used by the Royal Family. The concept of a royal yacht has long been a politically divisive issue.
Britannia was taken out of service in the first year of Tony Blair’s Government after Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, decreed that she was too expensive to replace, although Mr Blair later said that he regretted going through with the decision.
Since then, ardent monarchists have doggedly pursued the idea of a replacement. The privately funded training ship project known as FSP21 — Future Ship Project 21st Century — was endorsed by David Cameron after lobbying from Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, and David Willetts, the Higher Education Minister.
The latest idea for a yacht is the Jubilee Yacht Appeal, launched by a group of business associates including Elaine Skinner, chief executive of the charity fundraising platform giveonthemobile.com, which is waiving its normal fees.
She said: “A Diamond Jubilee yacht dedicated to the Queen and her charities would be a celebration of her achievements, a beacon of hope and reminder of what we can achieve as a nation when we all pull together. We are saying to everybody, ‘Come along, give us £1, let’s make this happen in the year of the Diamond Jubilee’.
“The Queen loved Britannia. But that is no longer available. This is not just about the Queen, it is about her charities. They would be able to use the boat to raise funds. It could also be used for corporate days and business events to raise the funds for maintenance and running costs.”
The announcement has prompted an inevitable war of words between the rival schemes as each tries to promote its case. Miss Skinner said that her appeal had the advantage of not building a new vessel from scratch. “That’s a five-year plan,” she said. “We are looking for a yacht that is available. And we want to do it this year, for her Diamond Jubilee. It is a mammoth challenge but it is extremely exciting.”
The other plan launched this week is for the £100 million Commonwealth Flagship, a proposal put forward by Ian Maiden, a retired businessman.
The 127 metre vessel, designed by the late Jon Bannenberg, would be a marketing tool for Commonwealth countries that could also be used by the Queen for state occasions. It would be funded in part by contributions in kind from member countries.
Mr Maiden said: “A royal yacht as such belongs to a bygone era. The primary role would be for the Commonwealth. But it is rather good if the Queen, as head of State, can have access to a suitable boat from time to time. If it was to be used privately it would have to be paid for. I wanted something a bit like Britannia, but six decades younger and leaner and fitter. It would have 80 crew instead of 250.”
Mr Maiden mooted a similar idea with a group of businessmen a decade ago, but that foundered after Mr Blair failed to give it his backing.
Of the Future Ship Project, he suggested that that would have such a busy educational and scientific role that there would be “no room for the Queen”.
He said: “The two proposals are in direct competition with one another. There hasn’t been this degree of rivalry since the days of the first royal yacht when Charles II acquired his Jachtship from his Dutch friends in 1660.”
Rear-Admiral David Bawtree, the former commander of the naval base at Portsmouth who is behind the Future Ship Project, said that there was “room for confusion among the public” between the three schemes. “I think ours is doing something for young people. In 50 years’ time, 60,000 people would have benefited from the training opportunities that we offer.”
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the plans.
Thank you, EIIR. Very full explanation. Gives a good context. 
