Parts of a royal yacht are adorning the mantlepieces of several homes throughout the Kingdom. This remarkable fact was revealed at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club which hosted the East Coast Old Gaffers Dinner on Saturday.

After the supper I gave a talk about the East Coast in which I showed news cuttings of the Royal Yacht Britannia aground on the mud-flats at Southend-on-Sea, Essex during J-Class racing in 1924.

This prompted a member to reveal that his umbrellas are held upright in the foyer of his house by means of a section of Britannia’s mast (she was scuppered off the back of the Wight as King George V scandalously requested should happen after his death).

When I expressed astonishment at this relic it was further revealed that many other mementoes of the great yacht exist in other homes throughout the land.