The Queen doesn't get a chance to visit the furthest reaches of her kingdom quite as often as she might like, but now she's found a way around the problem by treating herself and her family to a holiday on board a converted car ferry. Along with her daughter Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Laurence, she boarded the appropriately named Hebridean Princess on Sunday for a tour of the Western Isles.
In years gone by the monarch enjoyed regular jaunts on board the royal yacht HMS Britannia, but since the royal yacht was decommissioned in 1997 she hasn't had many opportunities to stretch her sea legs. Perhaps it was with that very notion in mind that she chose to wear trousers in public for only the second time as she set off on her holiday at the weekend.
Peter Phillips and his girlfriend Autumn Kelly both walked the gangplank onto the vessel, too, along with Viscount Linley and his family. And over the next eight days Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Earl and Countess of Wessex are all expected to join the royal matriarch on board.
The boat started its life as a car ferry carrying up to 600 passengers at a time, but it has been converted into a luxurious cruiser with 30 spacious cabins. And it will now be providing the sovereign with a rare chance to see some of the most beautiful and remote corners of her realm, including the islands of Colonsay and Harris in the Outer Hebrides.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
