UK Defence Forum

Diana was not a blood princess and was never officially titled "Princess Diana". That was an invention of fiction by the media who assumed from watching too many Disney fairytales that marrying a Prince makes one a Princess. Totally false.

She was HRH Diana, Princess of Wales. It's a job title. Only a blood princess can be called Princess before her name.

After her divorce, Diana lost the HRH and was re-titled as Diana, Princess of Wales - because she was mother to two blood princes.

The current Princess of Wales is HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, because she's married to HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. Camilla does not use her Princess of Wales title publically to avoid upsetting all of the hardcore rabid Diana fans who may possess grudges.

SKB wrote:Diana was not a blood princess and was never officially titled "Princess Diana". That was an invention of fiction by the media who assumed from watching too many Disney fairytales that marrying a Prince makes one a Princess. Totally false.

She was HRH Diana, Princess of Wales. It's a job title. Only a blood princess can be called Princess before her name.

After her divorce, Diana lost the HRH and was re-titled as Diana, Princess of Wales - because she was mother to two blood princes.

The current Princess of Wales is HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, because she's married to HRH Charles, Prince of Wales. Camilla does not use her Princess of Wales title publically to avoid upsetting all of the hardcore rabid Diana fans who may possess grudges.

You seem to be suggesting that someone on this thread can't get the title or the name right.

Looks like we could be getting a new royal yacht, just heard on the radio that senior royals have been left £50m in a will for the purpose of a royal yacht.

Jake1992 wrote:Looks like we could be getting a new royal yacht

Just need to get the Treasury to cough up another 50 million or so. And dual purpose it with Dept of Trade, or Foreign Office.

Rather depends on the election result I would think.

Scimitar54 wrote:Rather depends on the election result I would think.

Not if the Royals fund it them selfs it doesn’t, but if HMG want to use it as well they’ll have to stump up some funding.

Jake1992 wrote:Not if the Royals fund it them selfs it doesn’t

Suppose they could name it Duke of York

There is no need to build a specific new vessel as a royal yacht. There have been previous Royal Yachts that were RN warships, such as HMS Vanguard (1947) and HMS Renown (1916).

The title "Royal Yacht" could become a transferable one, like when the Queen is aboard an RAF aircraft and its callsign becomes Kittyhawk. On a civilian-owned aircaft, the royal callsign becomes Sparrowhawk. RAF helicopters with royalty aboard have the Rainbow callsign.

SKB wrote:There is no need to build a specific new vessel as a royal yacht. There have been previous Royal Yachts that were RN warships, such as HMS Vanguard (1947) and HMS Renown (1916).

The title "Royal Yacht" could become a transferable one, like when the Queen is aboard an aircraft and its callsign becomes Kittyhawk (or Rainbow).

I don’t think the RN has enough vessels for one to be used in this capacity how ever temporary, if it’s true that they are getting £50m for this purpose then to mean it’d make sense for HMG via the foreign office to add its own £50m and build a modern version, something like the design going around a couple of years that was meant to look like a modern Britannia as a homage.

Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster (F229) could be used as a "royal yacht", as the Queen is actually the Duke of Lancaster and the ship is already known as "The Queen's Ship".

SKB wrote:Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster could be used as a "royal yacht", as the Queen is acyually the Duke of Lancaster and the ship is already known as "The Queen's Ship".

Can you imagine any royals or high up politicians staying on here with her cramped bunks, boards this like I said above I think there is more important things for a T23 to be doing this along with out side money being given for this reason why should the RN be lumped with the role.

Personally I think 50 million for a royal yacht is a bargain. It's an asset that will last 40 years minimum, and quite apart from trade it can showcase British maritime engineering. It would be a nice follow on project for Cammels after the RSS. Finance it with a loan secured against the asset and sublet it when not in use.

To put it in perspective there is one RAF Voyager now permanently kitted out as a VIP aircraft and they cost I believe they cost north of 200 million a pop.

SD67 wrote:Personally I think 50 million for a royal yacht is a bargain. It's an asset that will last 40 years minimum, and quite apart from trade it can showcase British maritime engineering. It would be a nice follow on project for Cammels after the RSS. Finance it with a loan secured against the asset and sublet it when not in use.

To put it in perspective there is one RAF Voyager now permanently kitted out as a VIP aircraft and they cost I believe they cost north of 200 million a pop.

I agree and this £50m left in a will for that purpose give HMG the excuse needed to put the other £50m towards it with out massive out cries of wasting cash with it being half funded privately.

Yeah however voyager retains and undertakings its primarily military tasking even though it is kitted out for VIP transport. Not to mention the fact that VIPs are time poor and hence a/c are there only means of overseas transport.

Having a new royal yacht berthed at South Railway Jetty again would be wonderful and nostalgic. They'd also have to move the old Southern Railway station canopy back to the jetty though, after moving it away!!

I think a new yacht should be built in Portsmouth too, there's plenty of local yacht builders in the area.

According to the Telegraph the PM is soon to announce a new Royal Yacht, dedicated to/named after the Duke of Edinburgh. Presumably, and hopefully, the MoD won't have to foot the £200 million bill. So, we'll have something else to speculate on now (which yard, which design etc)...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/0 ... ed-prince/

Well, they can't name it HMY Duke of Edinburgh, as there's to be a T26 HMS Edinburgh.... unless the name is transferred.

Carriers should have been Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. Leaving Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales for a pair of new LHD's to replace the Albions class

I've wondered how Princess Anne, the Princess Royal feels about not having a ship named after her, but a jetty, previously known as Middle Slip Jetty.

I think HMS Duke of Edinburgh is fine, in WW1 there were HMS DoE and HMS Edinburgh Castle operating at the same time. Plus I would avoid HMY given the politics.

The role should be a combination of the following:
- Floating Global Conference Centre
- Training Ship (including Cadets and DoE)
- Hospital Ship (PCRS)
- Royal Yacht

dmereifield wrote:According to the Telegraph the PM is soon to announce a new Royal Yacht, dedicated to/named after the Duke of Edinburgh. Presumably, and hopefully, the MoD won't have to foot the £200 million bill. So, we'll have something else to speculate on now (which yard, which design etc)...

Repulse wrote:The role should be a combination of the following:
- Floating Global Conference Centre
- Training Ship (including Cadets and DoE)
- Hospital Ship (PCRS)
- Royal Yacht

And Boris for Holiday use.

Not sure I fully understand the rationale for a such a ship.

SW1 wrote:Not sure I fully understand the rationale for a such a ship.

Don't spend too much time contemplating it. There really is none.

RichardIC wrote:

SW1 wrote:Not sure I fully understand the rationale for a such a ship.

Don't spend too much time contemplating it. There really is none.

Well, we don't know the specifics yet, but even if (?) it adds no new unique capabilities, does it not at least add additional capacity and flexibility to the fleet? In addition to supporting UK shipbuilding plc, without MoD having to fund it

dmereifield wrote:

RichardIC wrote:

SW1 wrote:Not sure I fully understand the rationale for a such a ship.

Don't spend too much time contemplating it. There really is none.

Well, we don't know the specifics yet, but even if (?) it adds no new unique capabilities, does it not at least add additional capacity and flexibility to the fleet? In addition to supporting UK shipbuilding plc, without MoD having to fund it

Not sure it does add any capacity infact if it’s RN manned it probably reduces it.

To be honest my thinking goes as far as if it’s to honor the work of the Duke of Edinburgh then his passions were for service, young people’s development and the environment. So my thinking takes me to either a sail training ship for cadets or perhaps an Arctic/Northern Atlantic research ship linked to university or maritime museum that Young people can join with scientists to investigate environmental impacts in the region. Sort of a sister ship to HMS protector perhaps with a commonwealth crew. But most certainly not a Royal Yacht