ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA

This is probably not the first piece that springs to mind when the name Robert Taylor is mentioned. But that’s a pity because not only is this a very good maritime painting, but a great tribute to one of the world’s most famous five-star ships, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Now a museum ship moored in Edinburgh’s historic port of Leith, this poignant view shows Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia at her traditional mooring on the Thames, adjacent to the Tower of London, in the days before she was finally decommissioned. Sturdy and refined, the Britannia has hosted Kings and Queens, Presidents, Prime Ministers and many of the world’s leading figures. For over four decades she steamed an incredible 1,087, 623 nautical miles on 986 official voyages that took her from the remotest islands of southern Pacific to the busting cities of China. In her career she called at over 600 ports in 135 countries, not bad considering there are only just over 190 member states in the UN, many of which are landlocked!

Highly affordable, this magnificent piece is certainly a five-star tribute to a five-star ship, and is a great item with which to commemorate Britain’s unparalleled maritime history.