Royal yacht

A royal yacht is a vessel commissioned for the exclusive use of a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often crewed by personnel from the navy and used by the monarch and their family on both private and official travels.
While some historical examples were privately funded, the majority of modern royal yachts are financed and maintained by the government of the country the monarch rules.

History

Depending on how the term is defined royal yachts date back to the days of antiquity with royal barges on the Nile in ancient Egypt.
Later the Vikings produced royal vessels. They followed the pattern of longships although highly decorated and fitted with purple sails.
In England, Henry V sold off the royal yachts to clear the Crown's debts. The next royal vessels in England were built in the Tudor period with Henry VIII using a vessel in 1520 that was depicted as having cloth of gold sails. James I had Disdain, a ship in miniature, built for his son Prince Henry. Disdain was significant in that she allowed for pleasure cruising and as a result can be seen as an early move away from royal ships as warships.
The first ships to unquestionably qualify as royal yachts were those owned by Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland. The first was gift from the Dutch but later yachts were commissioned and built in England. This established a tradition of royal yachts in Britain that was later copied by other royal families of Europe. Through the 19th century royal yachts got larger as they became a symbol of national wealth. World War I brought this trend to an end and the royal families that survived found it harder to justify the cost with the result that there are only three royal yachts left in use in Europe. For the most part royal yachts have been superseded by the use of warships in this role, as royal yachts are often seen as a hard-to-justify expenditure. In addition most monarchies with a railway system employ a special set of ceremonial royal carriages. Most monarchies are also granted access to government owned aircraft for transportation.

Yachts by country

Australia

SS Gothic (1947)

Austria-Hungary

Phantasie

''Miramar''

Belgium

La Clémentine Alberta Falcao Uno

''Alpa IV''

Denmark

The Danish royal family have had several royal yachts. Two of them have been named Dannebrog.

HMDY Sophia Amalia
HMDY Elephanten
HDMS Kronprindsens Lystfregat
HMDY Kiel
HDMY Ægir
HMDY Slesvig
HDMS Jylland – a frigate which served as a royal yacht on occasion.
HDMY Dannebrog
HDMY Dannebrog

Egypt

Mahroussa was built for Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt. She passed the Suez Canal during its opening. Lengthened twice, she was converted from paddle steamer to screw propellers. She now serves as a school ship for the Egyptian Navy.

Germany

During the existence of the German Empire, the Kaiser used these imperial yachts:

SMY Hohenzollern ; renamed SMY Kaiseradler in 1892
SMY Hohenzollern II
SMY Hohenzollern III

The Kriegsmarine fleet tender Grille was built as a state yacht for Adolf Hitler.

Greece

''Amphitrite''

Hawaii

Cleopatra's Barge renamed Haʻaheo o Hawaiʻi
Kamehameha III, seized by the French when they invaded Honolulu

Iran

NaseruddinMozaffari, turned into gunboatChahsevar, turned into corvetteKish, turned into training ship

Italy

Savoia Trinacria, former steamship America

''Savoia''

Japan

Banryu An iron screw schooner, she was given to the shōgun Tokugawa Iesada by Queen Victoria to commemorate the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Jingei A wooden-hulled paddle steamer designed by Léonce Verny.Hatsukaze presented by Baron Hisaya Iwasaki to the Crown Prince to commemorate his visit of the Mitsubishi Shipyard in Nagasaki.

Jordan

King Hussein of Jordan was aboard his royal yacht in the Gulf of Aqaba when on 7 June 1981 it was overflown by eight low-flying Israeli F-16s en route to attack the Osirak reactor in Iraq during Operation Opera. One of the pilots described it as 'stunning white... incredible'.

Monaco

Princess Alice Deo Juvante II Carostefal Stalca

''Pacha III''

Morocco

''El Boughaz I''

Netherlands

Koningssloep De Groene Draeck Jumbo VI, a Moonen 85Aldebaran, a Wajer 38Alma, a Wajer 55

Norway

King Haakon VII received the royal yacht Norge as a gift from the people of Norway in 1947. The royal yacht is owned by the king but maintained and crewed by the Royal Norwegian Navy. Before this other naval ships had served as royal sea transport and the king used some smaller boats for short trips mostly on official occasions.Sophia Amalia Elephanten

Oman

The Oman Royal Yacht Squadron operates the following major vessels from Muscat and Muttrah in Oman:

Name	Length	Shipyard	Year	Description
Al Said	155	Lürssen, Germany	2007	Has a helipad, orchestra and swimming pool. It is berthed in Mutrah port most of the time
Fulk al Salamah	165	Mariotti Yachts, Italy	2016	Replacement support vessel and secondary yacht.
Al Dhaferah	136	Bremer Vulkan, Germany	1987	Retained as logistics and helicopter support ship.
Zinat al Bihaar	61	Oman Royal Yacht Squadron	1988	Luxury sailing yacht built in Oman with imported engine from Siemens
Al-Noores	33.5	K. Damen Netherlands	1982	Specialized tug boat for the other royal yachts

Ottoman Empire

The Imperial Ottoman Government used many yachts for its head of state. These include:

Tesrifiye
İzzeddin
Talia
Ertuğrul

The Republic of Turkey also has presidential yachts

Portugal

Veloz : 1858
Sirius : 1876
Amélia I : 1888
Amélia II : 1897
Amélia III : 1898
Amélia IV : 1901

The Portuguese King Charles I used four successive royal yachts, all named Amélia, after his wife, Queen Amélie of Orleans. These yachts were, mainly, used by Charles I for his oceanographic missions. It was in the Amélia IV that King Manuel II and the Portuguese royal family left the country for the exile, after the republican revolution of 5 October 1910. In the republican regime, the Amélia IV was integrated in the Portuguese Navy as the survey ship NRP 5 de Outubro.

Romania

Ștefan cel Mare

''Luceafarul''

Russia

Imperial yachts employed by the Tsar of Russia:

Alexandria
Standart
Derzhava
Tsarevna
Livadia ; wrecked in Crimea October 21–22, 1878
Livadia ; flawed experimental ship, retired and hulked soon after commissioning. Used by the Romanovs only twice.
Polyarnaya Zvezda
Alexandria
Standart

Saudi Arabia

Prince Abdulaziz Now owned by descendants of Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
Al Riyadh
Al Salamah
''Issham al Baher''

Spain

Giralda
The luxury yacht Fortuna belonged to King Juan Carlos I until he renounced it in 2013.

Sweden

Vasaorden Drott

United Arab Emirates

Dubai is the personal yacht of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. Completed in 2006, she is the third largest yacht currently in service at long. She came to world media attention when she sailed out to welcome the retired ocean liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 to Dubai in November 2008.
Another personal yacht of the Sheikh is the Alloya, built by Sanlorenzo in 2013.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has had 83 royal yachts since the restoration of Charles II of England in 1660. Charles II himself had 25 royal yachts, while five were simultaneously in service in 1831. Since the decommissioning of in 1997 the British monarchy no longer has a royal yacht.

Other nations

The Principality of Monaco owned the princely yacht Deo Juvante II between 1956–1958. This Camper and Nicholsons yacht was a wedding gift from Aristotle Onassis to Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly and was used on their honeymoon. The yacht, now called M/Y Grace, is now owned and operated by Quasar Expeditions.
Yugoslavia had some royal yachts before World War II.
Zanzibar had only one naval ship in 1896, the royal yacht. It was sunk by the British during the shortest war in history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War.
Other nations that employ some form of yacht presently or in the past include China and Sarawak.