The Royal Yacht Britannia was The Queen and the Royal Family’s sea-going home for more than 40 years.
It sailed over 1,000,000 miles around the world before eventually being decommissioned in 1997.
And for one Huddersfield resident the vessel has a very special significance.
David McDonald, 74, of Dalton, was a radio operator and DJ on board Britannia for three years in the early 1960s.
He and other members of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen still visit Leith every year and work on the yacht as volunteers to keep up its appearance.
Every year they hold an annual dinner dance in late November/early December, usually in the Portsmouth area.
But this year marks a special occasion when they will attend a reception at Windsor Castle on November 29 when they will meet the Queen.
David said: “Being on board Britannia was the highlight of all our careers and quite an honour.
“I had completed six years’ general service in the Royal Navy before I joined.
“I remember my first time when the Queen Mother came past the wireless office where I worked on a Mediterranean tour. I was so nervous when I went on board. She said: ‘You’re new aren’t you?’
“I told her it was my first trip and she said she hoped I enjoyed it.
“We were given permission from the Queen to call members of the Royal family by their first names and Prince Charles and Princess Anne would chat to us.
“There was no TV on board in those days and I remember Prince Charles asking for the Goon Show, that was one of his favourites.
“I have kept in touch with members of the Royal family since then and Prince Charles invited us to Highgrove. It’s a very close-knit community on the Royal yacht.
“When I told Princess Anne about our voluntary work on the yacht she said: “That’s bloody marvellous!”
David said he was looking forward to the reception and added that “members were coming out of the woodwork” once news of the Queen’s invitation became well known.
As many as 400 are expected to attend.
Later, David, a father-of-two left the high seas for a rather more mundane existence at Holset Engineering in Huddersfield, but he has never forgotten those special days.
