Queen elizabeth ii: the one thing she refuses to travel without

Queen Elizabeth II is the most important member of the royal family and has fine-tuned her own travel desires during her lifetime. The Queen and Prince Philip, 97, once had the luxury of

their own ship, the Royal Yacht Britannia - a vessel that also served as a place far from the cameras of the media for younger generations including Prince Charles, 70, and the late Princess

Diana. Commissioned into the Royal Navy on 11 January 1954, the Britannia was designed as a royal residence to entertain guests around the world. It was decommissioned in 1997. When the

Queen used to make state visits in the Britannia she would demand staff brought one thing in particular on board. Queen Elizabeth would demand Malvern water was brought on board for use in

her tea, claimed author Peter Pigott in his book Royal Transport. This was just part of the huge selection of luggage the royals brought on board. “For each state visit, the royal family

brought with them five tonnes of luggage, including Malvern water for the Queen’s tea,” wrote Pigott. A surprising number of staff members also came on board with Her Majesty - 45 in total,

according to Pigott. There were plenty of other quirks to the Britannia - both the ship itself and life on board the yacht. “It was the only ship not to have its name on the bow - the royal

crest was sufficient,” wrote Pigott. “It was also the only ship in the Royal Navy on which the sailors were called by their first name.” Life for staff was far from relaxed, however, and

there were very, very strict rules on board. “Shouting by staff was forbidden at all times to preserve the air of tranquillity that existed on board,” said Pigott. “All orders were relayed

by hand signal, and ‘red hot’ notice boards were used if there were any last minute order to be posted.” The conditions could also be highly unpleasant for employees on the royal yacht as

regal demands were met. “Because of the continuous state function that required instantaneous change of clothing and linen, the sailors had to run a 24-hour laundry where temperatures could

climb above 120 degrees Celsius,” wrote Pigott. Another interesting fact about the Britannia is that there were no double beds on board at all. Writer Brian Hoey revealed in his book Not in

Front of the Corgis that Elizabeth and Philip had separate cabins when they travelled on the Royal Yacht Britannia.  Hoey explained that when the Britannia was used for royal honeymoons,

single beds would have to be roped together by the crew. One explanation is that many couples of Elizabeth and Philip’s generation don’t share a bed at all times. Another explanation is due

to their bedding preferences. “The Queen likes a longer turn-back on her sheets and blankets and lace trimming on her pillowcases; Prince Philip does not,” Hoey wrote in the book. Philip

also allegedly “sleeps wide open whatever the weather temperature. He has never used a hot water bottle in his life.” The Prince is also an early riser so doesn’t wish to disturb his wife in

the morning.