Royal Flypast by Concorde off Barbados, 1977
Her Majesty's day on Britannia would vary greatly,
depending on whether she was on an official state visit or merely
travelling from one destination to another. Although no two days
were ever the same, this would represent a typical day on
board.
07.30
Her Majesty The Queen is woken by her personal maid with morning
tea, which has milk and no sugar. The maid fills The Queen's bath
and checks temperature with thermometer.
08.30
The Queen takes breakfast in the Sun Lounge.
09.15
The Queen starts work in her Sitting Room with her Private
Secretary. Boxes of official documents arrive daily from various
Government departments.
11:00
Coffee break and a chance for The Queen to view the chart in the
Sun Lounge showing Britannia's position and distance
travelled overnight.
11:30
Back to work on the official papers until lunchtime.
13:00
The Queen and members of the Royal Family gather in the State
Dining Room for a buffet lunch.
14:30
The Queen spends the afternoon working on private
correspondence.
17:00
Afternoon tea is taken in the Sun Lounge. It would often be
wafer-thin cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches, pastries and
cakes, served with tea in the finest bone china cups.
18:00
Her Majesty meets with her Dresser to discuss jewellery and
dress requirements for that evening.
19:00
The Queen dresses for dinner in her bedroom.
19:30
The Royal Family gathers for drinks in the Anteroom. They are
joined by the Admiral of the Yacht and senior members of the Royal Household
before moving through to the State Dining Room.
20:00
Dinner is served. The Queen sits on the port side of the dining
table and uses a small bell to signal when a course has to be
cleared away. Younger Royal children would eat separately until
they are fully aware of the correct protocol.
21:30
The Royal Family retire to the Drawing Room for coffee, liqueurs
and The Queen's favourite chocolate mints. The rest of the evening
may be spent playing cards, doing jigsaw puzzles or just enjoying
conversation. Sometimes a film would be shown in the Dining
Room.
23:00
The Queen retires to bed and everybody follows suit. As is Royal
custom, no one goes to bed until Her Majesty retires. It was
sometimes the case that Her Majesty would work on urgent documents
in her cabin late into the night.
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