From the time of the Restoration of Charles II, when he returned to
England from Breda and was presented with the yacht Mary by the
burgomaster of Amsterdam, Royal yachts began to be defined as such
in England and built with that special purpose in mind. They were
built luxuriously and used for royal visits to the fleet, for
diplomacy and for racing and cruising for pleasure. Charles II took
more of an interest in the sea than any other English monarch. He
built a fleet of royal yachts, fine examples of ship design and
decorative art, and he can be said to have been the father of
yachting and of royal yachts. His successors were less keen on the
sea but travelled to Europe on missions of peace and war; and royal
yachts took part in regime change several times. In 1689 Queen Mary
was bought over to join her husband William of Orange and complete
the Glorious Revolution'. In 1714 George I arrived from Hanover to
establish a new dynasty. And in 1814, in a reverse process, King
Louis XVIII was taken back to France to restore the monarchy after
the defeat of Napoleon. This important new book is the first to
describe the building and decoration of the yachts in such detail,
using many newly discovered sources; and it is the first to
describe their uses and exploits, often taking their royal
passengers into controversy or danger. Besides the yachts
themselves, it reveals much about the character of the kings,
queens and princes involved - the impetuousness of the future
William IV for example, or his brother George IV's surprising love
of sailing. It describes the design, accommodation, and sailing of
the yachts, as well as their captains and crews. Sailing yachts
came to an end when Queen Victoria discovered that steam power was
more efficient as well as more comfortable, but they revived in the
form of her son Edward's cutter Britannia, and the Duke of
Edinburgh's Bloodhound and Coweslip. Their legacy can be seen in
the widespread sport of yachting today, and in the lavish
superyachts of billionaires. This beautifully illustrated book,
full of anecdote and containing detailed descriptions of dozens of
royal yachts, will fascinate naval historians, ship modellers and,
indeed, anyone who sets foot aboard the deck of a modern yacht.
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