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HMS
Britannia, the Royal Yacht, was commissioned in
1953 and served for forty-five years before being
retired in 1998. In this photograph she is shown
dressed overall with signal flags. The flag at the
mainmast is the standard of Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. This
standard is a banner of his arms: Quarterly, First
Or, semée of hearts Gules, three lions passant in
pale Azure (for Denmark), Second Azure, a cross
Argent (for Greece), Third Argent, two pallets Sable
(for Battenberg or Mountbatten), Fourth Argent, upon
a rock Proper a castle triple towered Sable, masoned
Argent, windows, port, turret-caps and vanes Gules
(for Edinburgh). The standard recalls that he was
born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, his father
being Prince Alexander of Greece and Denmark, the
fourth son of King George I of Greece. Philip,
however, grew up in France and Britain and
eventually renounced his Greek and Danish princely
titles. He was created Duke of Edinburgh at the time
of his marriage to the then Princess Elizabeth and
was again titled as a prince when the Queen issued
Letters Patent to that effect in 1957. He also holds
the naval rank of Admiral of the Fleet and this is
indicated by the Union Jack, the rank flag of an
Admiral of the Fleet, at the foremast. The flag at
the mizzen is generally the "courtesy ensign"—the
flag of the nation in whose waters the ship is
docked or moored. In this photograph the flag at the
mizzenmast is indistinct but appears to be the
former government flag of Northern Ireland: the
Cross of St. George defaced with a six-pointed white
star bearing the red hand of Ulster and surmounted
by a royal crown. Otherwise Britannia flies
the usual flags of the
Royal Navy: the Union Jack
from the jack staff at the bow and the White Ensign
(not visible in this photo) from the ensign staff at
the stern. When the Queen was aboard, the flag of
the Lord High Admiral was hoisted at the foremast and
her Royal Standard was hoisted at the mainmast.
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