Charles II had 25 royal yachts,[2] while five were simultaneously in service in 1831.[3]
Merchantmen or warships have occasionally been chartered or assigned for special duty as a temporary royal yacht, for example the steamship Ophir in 1901 and the battleship HMS Vanguard in 1947.[citation needed]
In 2021 the UK government announced plans for a new 'ship of state' to be managed jointly between the Ministry of Defence, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for International Trade. The plan for the ship is to "host trade fairs, ministerial summits and diplomatic talks", fulfilling functions in a similar capacity to previous Royal Yachts. The ship would be crewed by the Royal Navy. The cost was placed at between £200M and £250M. Some reports suggested the yacht would be named after the late Duke of Edinburgh. By late 2022 some reports suggested that the UK government might not proceed with the new yacht.[8][9][10][11]
The £1.4-million yacht Hebridian Princess This yacht was chartered by the Queen for her 80th Birthday. Formerly the MacBrayne ferry Columba built in 1964; converted to a miniature cruise ship for just 49 passengers in 1989.
The £50-million Motor Yacht Leander Chartered by Prince of Wales for visit to Caribbean in March 2008. Chartered yacht instead of jet was to demonstrate his concern for the environment.