Royal Yachts Under Sail

Royal Yachts Under Sail written by Brian Lavery and published

by Seaforth Publishing - £50 - Hardback - Pages 160

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.

Royal Yachts Under Sail is a beautiful-looking book, it’s a coffee table size book, so one that’s not so easy to read laid in bed. I have to start with the fact that this book is choc full of brilliant and beautiful artwork of fantastic royal ships, scenes, sailors and ports of interest. The pictures in my opinion really bring the book and subject to life, and the standard of art is just very beautiful. The book also contains maps, diagrams, illustrations and plans which are of equally high standard too. 

The book explains the story of the start of the Royal Yacht era with the return of

Charles II, but these boats were not just your standard boat, these boats were

vessels of high luxury, style and expense. Their opulence would bring stature,

standing and status to the monarch and his country. This is a fascinating book

if you're into learning about boat building, with much talk about plans, ease of

building, standards of building and work. This book was a fascinating read I

have enjoyed reading and would easily please anyone who loves to read about

early sailing or model makers.