Girlguiding has been linked with the Royal family over the years. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was one of the early leaders. When Queen, she asked that a Guide Company and Brownie Pack were formed at Buckingham Palace so that her daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret- Rose could become members of the Guide Association. In 1946 she instigated The Queen’s Guide Award, her daughter Margaret-Rose become President of the Guide Association and later when Princess Elizabeth was Queen Elizabeth ll she took on the role of Patron. When Princess Elizabeth Married Prince Philip in 1947 the people of Cowes gave the couple a sailing boat as a wedding gift and the letter showing thanks for the gift is displayed in the Island Sailing Club.
In the 1950s HRH Princess Anne (now the Princess Royal) became a member of the Guide Association, joining as a Brownie and progressing to Guides. She learned to sail with her father during visits to Cowes and is now Patron of UKSA based in Cowes.
Recently an exhibition showing the the Royals connection to Sailing and Cowes and commemorating the many visits to Cowes Roads of RY Britannia was opened in Cowes. The Exhibition is in Cowes until 29th August 2026.
Based in the Commodores House, (The Pink House) adjacent to Rosalie’s (the green building) in Cowes High Street, “Sailing Through Royal History” has been mounted by the Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (RYBT) and remains open until the 29th of August between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
RYBT cares for the Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith, near Edinburgh, along with Coweslip, Bluebottle and Bloodhound all of which have connections with the Royal Family and Cowes.
Between 1955 and 1996 the RY Britannia attended Cowes Week most years, primarily to accommodate the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Uffa Fox purchased Commodores House in 1948 and although he sold it to the Terry family he continued to live there until his death in 1972 .
A lot of the exhibition is devoted to Uffa Fox, whose connection with Prince Philip is legendary. They first met in 1948 when the Prince attended Cowes Week for the first time, and was staying on board the MFV Fanny Rose. Uffa rowed across to offer his help and advice to his Royal Highness, which started a long friendship.
The pair sailed together on countless occasions, aboard Bluebottle, Coweslip, Fairey Fox and Bloodhound. Coweslip, a Flying 15 was kept on Uffa’s Quay, allowing the Prince to arrive aboard the Royal barge thereby avoiding the crowds.
Coweslip, complete with its original racing flag now reinstated, remains at Commodores House for the duration of the exhibition ,before it returns to Leith.
Completed in 1954 in Clydebank, RY Britannia had a company of 21 officers plus 250 Royal Yachtsmen known as “Yotties”. It is estimated that 3296 “Yotties” served aboard Britannia during her service within the Royal Navy.
135 countries were visited by RY Britannia, and one of its last functions was hosting the UK handover of Hong Kong in 1997, before she visited China.
Moored in Leith RY Britannia welcomes visitors on board and the tour includes most areas of the vessel bar the engine room and generator room. However, thanks to virtual reality headsets, visitors can experience those parts .There is the floating 5 star Hotel Fingal- the former Northern Lighthouse Board tender MV Fingal- also on site, run by the Trust
During her recent visit to Cowes, the Princess Royal visited the exhibition and remarked on the photographs of her brother Charles, now HM the King, sailing with their father, the Duke of Edinburgh and Uffa.
At the official opening John Terry, the present owner of Commodores House, welcomed the organisers of the exhibition including Chief Executive Franck Bruyère of the RYBT and historian Richard Johnstone-Bryden and said how he had also sailed with Uffa in Coweslip. Lora Peacey- Wilcox, Deputy Town Mayor of Cowes Town Council welcomed the exhibition to Cowes for the month of August.
Bluebottle is still sailing strong. With skipper Graham Bailey this Dragon class yacht was the winner of her class in this year’s North Sails Cowes Week.
