Ma'am must rhyme with ham – how the Queen ruled Britannia

FOR almost half a century the Royal Yacht Britannia regally ruled the waves as the Queen's floating palace.

Crossing the world, the impeccably turned out crew were the quintessentially British image of formality the Royal Family wanted to portray.

But now a fascinating, and previously classified, insight into the rigours of a regal life above and below decks has emerged.

The Ministry of Defence has published the official guide to rules, regulations and acceptable conduct for staff serving aboard the vessel.

The Precedent Book contains a number of revelations, including the fact that Her Majesty admires a stiff upper lip but not, apparently, a hairy one. Servicemen with moustaches were deemed unsuitable to guard the Queen.

The documents also reveal that crew members were to be "neither seen nor heard" near the Royal quarters, and were expected to wear soft-soled gym shoes to avoid disturbing the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Staff were banned from whistling, jogging or smoking on deck and were urged to avoid swearing in case a female member of the Royal household overheard.

A section of the 200-page Precedent Book entitled 'Commonwealth Personnel' shows that Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) members were expected to wear Royal Yacht cap ribbons and working dress during visits to North America.

Reservations were also raised about the facial hair sported by some Canadian servicemen. "RCN personnel with moustaches may not be suitable for duties in the public limelight."

However, it reveals the ban on hirsute upper lips was eventually lifted. "RCN carried out the duties of car door openers for the Royal Visit to Toronto in October 1991. There was no objection to the wearing of moustaches."

The situation would not arise with British mariners as the Royal Navy only permits recruits to be clean-shaven or have a "full set" of beard and moustache.

A spokesman for the Royal Yacht Britannia said the extracts from the protocol documents provided "a fascinating insight into what life was like on board".

Their own records showed that growing a beard while serving on the Royal Yacht was permitted provided it was deemed "respectable" by the first time the whiskers appeared in public. The rules stated: "The granting of a request to discontinue shaving will carry with it an automatic stoppage of leave for 14 days.

"At the end of this time the beard will be inspected and a further 14 days may be given. Should the beard still be untidy after 28 days the order to continue shaving will be given."

Permission to remove the beard would not be granted, except for medical reasons, within six months of permission "to grow" being granted.

A section marked "Royal Duty Reminders" makes it clear that silence was golden on board Britannia. "Royal Yachtsmen should neither be seen nor heard near the Royal Apartments. As far as possible spoken orders are to be avoided.

"It must be generally appreciated that even walking across the Royal Deck in gym shoes makes quite perceptible noise in the cabins below. Although there is plenty of fan noise in this area, thumps and bangs are distinctive and are easily transmitted along the deck."

It confirms that no smoking was allowed on deck during working hours and that "strict attention" was paid to the age-old naval tradition of banning whistling on board at all times. Attendant helicopters, which followed the vessel's 1976 tour of the US, were described as "particularly irritating, even at the prescribed distance". Jogging on deck was also outlawed, although the Duke of Edinburgh did briefly permit it between 5pm and 6pm during his 1993 Caribbean tour.

Crew members were warned that their onshore behaviour needed to be "impeccable at all times" and were curtly ordered to watch their language.

"Remember that there are ladies in the Household who are likely to go forward within earshot at the wrong moment."

The rules stated the Royal Yachtsmen could be discharged from service for a variety of infractions including: "Misconduct, drunkenness, other offences and venereal disease."

The book also reveals that expensive royal silver was believed to have ended up being scraped into a bin by careless staff.

"As a result of the disappearance of silver cutlery accidentally discarded with galley waste or otherwise lost in November 1986 it was found necessary for the Duty Steward to muster cutlery after each meal."

Staff meeting the Queen or Queen Mother were informed to address them as "Your Majesty" initially, but otherwise as "Ma'am (to rhyme with ham)". All other Royals were to be addressed as "Your Royal Highness" and thereafter as "Sir" or "Ma'am".

Crew members were instructed to give a deferential nod when a member of the Royal family entered or left a room.

"Lower your head forward until your chin touches your chest momentarily and then raise your head to an upright position. There is no need to bend at the waist in the best Sir Walter Raleigh style!"

A section marked "Royal Duty Hints for Officers" urges them to keep a close eye on the man posted as the ceremonial sentry in order to avoid embarrassing episodes.

"Make sure he is fully briefed, particularly on changes to the programme. It is a lonely position often filled by a nervous and inexperienced man who can't see behind him and doesn't know who is coming down the Royal Brow."

The book records that the inspection and stirring of Britannia's Christmas pudding was a time-honoured and semi-formal tradition during festive cruise.

"It was stirred by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the Main Galley during the tour of Spain in 1988 and by the Prince of Wales during the tour of Hong Kong in 1989, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1990, and by all the Wales in Canada in 1991."

However, there was not always room for sentimentality.

The records show that in 1964, a request from the Australian Sea Cadets for highly decorated members to visit the Britannia and be briefly employed in minor duties was rejected out of hand as "service in the Royal Yacht is confined to selected regular officers and men of Her Majesty's Commonwealth Navies".

Clyde's finest

HMY Britannia was built at the John Brown & Co shipyard in Clydebank and was launched in 1953. During her career the vessel clocked up 696 foreign visits and 272 in UK waters.

The Prince and Princess of Wales took a honeymoon cruise aboard Britannia in 1981.

The yacht was decommissioned by the incoming Labour Government of Tony Blair in 1997. It argued that money required to fund a replacement could not be justified.

Britannia is now permanently moored at Leith Harbour, where it attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.