Meet the Experts: Britain’s Royal Yachts

Britain’s last Royal Yacht sailed in 1997. Recent governments have flirted with the idea of reintroducing these vessels but under the guise of ‘National Flagships’. Considered by some as symbols of Britain’s glorious maritime history, or as material evidence of poor economy and regal excess by others, ‘floating palaces’ continue to form a unique part of our political and cultural landscape. 

Using Henry Nelson O’Neil’s The Landing of HRH the Princess Alexandra at Gravesend, March 7 1863 as a starting point, this talk will explore how these private royal sailing craft gradually came to be understood as shared cultural icons.

About the speaker

Ellis Huddart is in the final year of his PhD with Royal Museums Greenwich and Birkbeck, University of London, specialising in the material culture of British imperialism, and the modernisation of the monarchy.