Prince Philip yacht: Jennie Bond criticises costs

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Just over half of respondents in an Express.co.uk survey said they do not want to see the consort’s memory kept alive with an opulent ocean liner, with some calling it a “waste of money”. The royal yacht proposed by a Cabinet minister would be called HMY The Duke of Edinburgh and would serve as a sister vessel to aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales.

As the country mourns the loss of the Royal Family’s patriarch, the minister said a luxurious ship would be a “very fitting” way to commemorate the duke.

But nearly 2,000 Express.co.uk readers think otherwise.

Asked “should a new royal yacht be built in tribute to Prince Philip?” 56 percent (1,929 readers) said no while 43 percent (1,526) said yes.

In comments, some readers furiously slapped down the plan saying it would be totally inappropriate to pursue such a costly project in the current environment.

One person said: “It would be a ridiculously ostentatious act at a time where the country is struggling to get back onto its feet financially.

“Whoever suggested it should take a good, long look at themselves.”

A second opponent called the former Royal Yacht Britannia a “waste of money” and added: “It was built when international air travel was in its infancy, ocean liners were used for transatlantic travel.

“If we need to entertain dignitaries they can use the embassies.”

And yet a third said: “The money should go into the Duke of Edinburgh Award to continue his good work.”

One person claimed Brexit Britain needed a “new destroyer to command a fleet of Navy vessels to protect our waters from the EU” instead of a royal yacht.

And others questioned why the bill for any new yacht should fall to taxpayers.

DON’T MISS
Jennie Bond hits back at ‘royal yacht’ for Philip – ‘non starter’ [REACTION]
Queen saved Philip from major embarrassment at royal dinner [EXPLAINED]
Tribe which worships Philip as a god says spirit ‘lives on’ [INSIGHT]

One reader suggested: “The Queens a billionaire. If she wants a boat tell her to go and buy one.”

But some said a royal yacht would be just the thing the Royal Family and the public need to remember the popular Prince, and it could also serve as a useful marketing tool for post-Brexit Britain.

One reader predicted that it would serve as “a floating marketing billboard to help with generating trade”.

Another said they were “all for it” and said the project to build “an iconic vessel on which to fly our national flag” would create jobs and generate revenue directly and indirectly.

They added: “We should have another royal yacht. It must of course be built in a British shipyard using British navel architects, engineers and skilled British labour.

“The last royal yacht was used not just for the Royal Family as some on here seem to think. It was part of the British naval fleet, used for navel training, also international business smooching.”

The survey came ahead of the Duke’s funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday.

Thirty four readers (one percent ) said they didn’t know.

The poll ran on Express.co.uk from 11.48am to 8pm on Monday April 12, with a total of 3,489 people taking part.

Source: Read Full Article