A Sombre Farewell
On 23 June 1994, John Major's Government announced there would be no refit for HMY Britannia as the costs would be too great. After a long and successful career spanning 44 years and travelling over 1 million miles around the globe, it was announced that the last Royal Yacht was to be decommissioned.
There was no immediate decision about a replacement, but the question of a new Royal Yacht became a political issue in the run up to the 1997 General Election. After the election, the new Labour Government eventually confirmed in October 1997 there would be no replacement for Britannia.
![Royal Yacht Britannia Tower Bridge](/media/1248/img001-12-copy.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&quality=70&width=620&height=450&rnd=131865128600000000)
Final Voyage
On 20 October 1997, HMY Britannia left Portsmouth on her farewell tour around the UK. This was a clockwise circumnavigation of Britain, calling at six major ports, including Glasgow. As she sailed past John Brown's Shipyard, she gave a blast on her sirens, in fond farewell to the yard which had proudly built her.
![Royal Family RYB](/media/1472/gettyimages-52114849.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&quality=70&width=620&height=450&rnd=131922170200000000)
Day of Decommissioning
It was a sad day when the Royal Family finally bid farewell to a ship that had so faithfully served her family and her country for over forty years. All the clocks on Britannia were stopped at 15:01, the time Queen Elizabeth II was piped ashore for the last time. This was one of the few occasions Queen Elizabeth II publicly shed a tear as The Band of HM Royal Marines played the highly emotive 'Highland Cathedral.'