Tourists get chance to cruise on barge used by royals

Now tourists are to be treated like royalty on board the barge which carried the Queen in the Thames river pageant as she marked 60 years on the throne last summer.

The Spirit of Chartwell has docked in its new home in Portugal where it is being used for cruises along the Douro River in Porto.

Its new owner has pledged to “keep the charm” of the vessel, which carried the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the 1,000-strong flotilla from Chelsea Pier to Tower Bridge.

Mario Ferreira, chief executive of new owners DouroAzul, said the Portuguese region provided the “perfect surrounding” for the famous barge.

“I saw the glamour of the images of the Jubilee,” he said.

“I saw the royal barge was so big and thought, ‘what are they going to do with it afterwards?’

“I think the Douro Valley is the perfect surrounding. The ambience, our culture, the alliance between Portugal and England for more than 100 years.

“I think it’s a great home for the vessel.”

The Spirit of Chartwell underwent a £1m makeover for the Jubilee celebrations and was lavishly decorated in regal red, gold and purple, reminiscent of royal barges of the 17th and 18th century, for the occasion.

Among the additions were thousands of flowers, an ornate gilded prow sculpture of Old Father Thames, symbols of royalty, and a large red velvet banner with a royal coat of arms made of more than half a million gold-coloured buttons.

Mr Ferreira said most of the decorations remain onboard but a new front to the barge has been installed.

“It is important to keep the charm that it has because it’s a very charming vessel”, Mr Ferreira said.

“The original front is in a museum in England so we have a second one to keep the spirit.

“The interior is as it was, most of the rooms weren’t even used, they were still brand new.

“It’s a great opportunity for the people that saw that event and saw that beautiful vessel to come and experience it, have a relaxed trip and be treated like royalty.”

The 64-metre-long vessel now comprises 14 luxurious cabins, a Royal suite, a restaurant, a piano bar and a spacious open-air upper-deck.

Previous owner Philip Morrell had reportedly planned for the royal barge to sail between Kent and Surrey offering luxury cruises on the Thames through central London.

However, the plans were scuppered when an agreement could not be reached with the Port of London for a stretch of the river at Richmond.

Mr Morrell’s firm, the Magna Carta Steamship Company, sold the 64-metre long river cruiser to DouroAzulat a loss after the vessel’s berth in central London was lost because of the Olympics.

Mr Morrell said at the time that had been “the last straw”, adding that he was very proud of the vessel’s role in the Jubilee pageant but “hugely disappointed” it would no longer be sailing on the Thames.

The Jubilee flotilla last June achieved a new record for the world’s largest boat parade and featured every kind of vessel imaginable, from steam boats, barges and tugs to dragonboats and one-man kayaks.

The seven mile-long procession was led by a floating belfry carrying the Royal Jubilee Bells as it passed under Tower Bridge.

Around a million spectators lined the riverbanks to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event despite the washout weather.

The Queen and the Duke were joined on board the royal barge by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

The Royal Family were protected by Royal Navy vessels, Marines and armed police in speed boats in one of the UK’s biggest-ever security operations.

Other guests of the Queen in the Royal Squadron of boats included Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha; the Duke of York; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie; the Earl and Countess of Wessex; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; Prince and Princess Michael of Kent; and the Duchess of Cambridge’s family.

Sailing behind the Royal Squadron were 39 Dunkirk “Little Ships”, reunited 72 years after they were drafted in by the Royal Navy in 1940 to help to rescue hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from the shores of northern France during the Second World War.

Other notable vessels in the flotilla included the St Michael’s Mount barge, which is the oldest boat still in commission in Britain and once carried Queen Victoria – the only other British monarch to reach a Diamond Jubilee.